Worlds Apart
by JesterChester
Summary: Santana Lopez grew up surrounded by a Latin community, her father the marine, her witty mom, and 3 siblings, and it's not until she makes one little mistake that she's forced to face the reality of community service on the other side of town. Insert, Rachel Berry, the free spirited girl with two dads and musical prowess. How can they connect, when they're both worlds apart?
1. Let Me Speak Your Language

**Okay sorry to throw this story on, when I still have to finish 3 fics already, but this was just an idea I had while I was trapped in the car for 3 hours. Anyway, it'll probably be awhile until I update this, but I'll continue it if people like this. Go on my tumblr and message me if you have questions about this story or any other stories. ** blog/tryflashback **I'm looking for more followers on tumblr and cool people to talk to.**

Santana's POV

My father once said, _The only thing that has any worth in life lives in here_, and he pointed to my head. I thought that any rational person would point to y chest, to my heart, but he wasn't rational, he was professional, he was a marine. Currently called off duty, but occasionally he goes off the train in Quantico, Virginia, but until then I'm happy to have him home.

Sure, I didn't like it when he left, but it meant I could toss my clothes on the ground and not worry about picking them up, it meant I could blast music from my room, and it certainly meant my curfew was far beyond 10:30. That wasn't to say that my mom wasn't a great caregiver, but she was lenient, my father didn't believe in leniency.

"Yo papa can I hang out with Puck?" I questioned giving him my best smile.

"No." He said simply before folding his newspaper and slipping it under his arm. I stood there, hoping my sheer resilience would get him to change his mind. It didn't. "Did you help you little siblings get ready for their play date?" He questioned. I looked around the room and figured he already knew I hadn't.

"Wait, was I supposed to do that?" I asked innocently. He stood up and set his cup of coffee down. "Hey no one gave me the memo." I said trying to aid my defense.

"I'll take care of it." He said patting me on the head before he hurried upstairs. I glanced out the window and saw my mom working in the garden. Her pride and joy. I went out the back and waved my hands in front of her before she could turn on the hose.

"How do I know you're about to try and get yourself into trouble?" She questioned putting her hands on her hips. She had this sly grin already forming on her face, which I imagined, matched mine.

"Can I hang out with Puck?" I asked skipping over and looping my arm with my mothers. "Wow look at this beautiful garden you have here. It looks amazing, really, near perfection." I complimented.

"Flattery does not work on me." She said before adding, "Although it does look fabulous." She grabbed a garbage bag filed with weeds and the empty plastic from mulch bags and she handed it to me. "So have you asked you father about this?" She questioned.

"No of course not." I exclaimed with a little too much shock in my voice. My mother gave me a look before I forced a smile. "Maybe…"

"And he obviously said no, which is why you should've come to me first. This is what you get for asking him first." She said in a sort of singsong know it all voice. I groaned and sighed all in a matter of moments. "You can hang out with Puck, but not alone in his room. And if you see your other friend, invite her over for dinner."

"I'm sure Quinnifer is already at Puck's anyway." I said with a shrug. "But are you sure it'll be cool if she comes over? Because last time she was over you tried to make her take home an entire spread of food. I think it bothers her when you treat her like a charity case." I informed my mom.

"I just care about the girl, and I won't make her feel like a charity case, but I'll cook extra." She said with a smile. "Mija, take that bag around and then you can go." I gave her a half salute before I headed towards the front. "You father would be embarrassed by that pitiful salute you just gave me." We both had a good laugh at that before I went to the tree lawn and dumped the garbage bag off before I headed down the street towards Puck's house.

My neighborhood was a tight knit community. It was more like a community within Lima Adjacent. Mostly Latin people and Mexicans, but Noah wouldn't be considered out of place because of his skin tone. It wasn't like we were exclusive, it was more like the opposite. Inclusive was what we did here, fiestas going on most nights, where anyone could come. I loved my neighborhood, and the people in it.

I had a lot of family around here; one of my cousins actually lived two doors down from Puck. Puck live with his mom and older brother Mani, but his dad bailed on him when he was 10. Occasionally he'd come back broke from gambling debts, I've talked to the guy a few times, he isn't so bad, but that doesn't excuse how he treats his family.

I rang the doorbell and Ms. Puckerman came to the door wiping her hands off with a towel which she casually threw on her shoulder when she saw me. "Hi Santana, what can I do you for?" It was sort of this running joke that Ms. Puckerman used to mess around with the mob back when she lived in New York, but that was based on rumors and the fact that she had a funny way of saying certain things.

"I'm looking for your idiot son." I said with a smile.

"Which one?" She questioned with a smirk. I laughed and she waved me inside. "Noah went out to get some of those Arnold Palmers that you guys insist on drinking all the time, but he should be back in a few minutes. You can wait in his room if you want." I went upstairs and jumped on Puck's bed.

"Familiar territory?" I looked up and saw Mani standing there with this huge cheesy grin on his face. I could've punched him if I had the energy.

"In his dreams." I said glancing over at the magazine sticking out from under Puck's bed. I picked it up but immediately dropped it back down to the floor when I saw that it was porn. "Fascinating reading material." I muttered.

"Yeah he's very studious." It was no secret that Mani felt like I should be hanging out with him and his older friends rather than Puck and Quinn. He had this pretentious way about him that made him seem like a bastard. Well actually, he was just a bastard. "There's a party tonight at-."

"No thanks." I said before he could finish.

"Oh come on, why don't you ever want to hang out with me?" He asked like it was a sign of the apocalypse that I'd rejected him even though I did it all the time.

"Simple, she doesn't like you." Puck said slipping past his brother and tossing me an ice tea. I caught it flipped it open with ease. Puck joined me on the bed and we tapped our drinks together before each taking a sip. "You know what would be even cooler than you standing there like a creep? You walking away."

"Noah I swear you are such a punk." Mani said getting overly defensive like always.

"Wow, you look really tough all the way over there Manessa." I could sense a fight about to begin so I positioned myself right up against the headboard and crossed my legs so I could watch. "Come on tough guy." Puck said setting his ice tea down and standing toe to toe with Mani.

"Santana would you keep them from demonstrating how stupid they are?" Ms. Puckerman shouted from downstairs.

"You heard the woman, I'm not interested in witnessing a pissing contest, fuck off Mani." I said stealing some of Puck's ice tea. Puck eyed his older brother until Mani decided it wasn't worth it and left us alone. "Your brother's a tool." I mumbled as I nodded towards Puck's TV. If I knew where the remote was I would've grabbed it myself and turned it on.

"That's a no go, all we've got is ESPN, the news, and Cinemax." I rolled my eyes and nudged him in the shoulder for being just as pervy as his brother.

"How'd you manage that?" I asked him as I grabbed his Chicago Bulls flat-cap hat and put it on backwards. "I mean considering you don't even pay for cable."

"I have my ways." He said with a small grin forming on his face.

"You're lucky Andres isn't here." I said finishing off my ice tea and tossing it in his trashcan.

"What are you gonna sick big brother on me?" Puck joked with a laugh.

"Hey man let's go somewhere, hit up the park or something." I suggested. Puck contemplated for a moment even though I knew he would agree. Unlike at my house, Puck's mom didn't care if he went out, as long as he didn't kill anyone, she was okay with it. We headed down the street, side-by-side occasionally saying hi to a neighbor. Puck gave me this wary look, like he wanted something from me. "What?"

"Quinnie." Puck said with a grin. I looked around expecting our blonde counterpart to be hanging around on someone's porch or something, but when I didn't see her I turned to Puck with a raised eyebrow. "I mean let's go to her place and see if she wants to hang."

"Why didn't you say that when we past her street back there?" I asked as we turned around and headed towards Quinn's. "Blinds closed no go remember." Puck bumped shoulders with and frowned.

"I know the rules, don't try and act like you're smarter than me." He said patting the top of his cap, which was on my head. I resented the fact that the movement was patronizing and resented that he would even consider himself at the same level of intelligence as me. That was a pure insult.

"Blinds up, that's a good sign. Let's just go to the window." I said bypassing Ms. Fabray's car and bending down so I could go under the clothesline. Puck was about to look into the window, probably to see if Quinn was fully dressed yet. Quinn was the unlucky one of the bunch, her dad died last year, so now she lived in a trailer with her mom. It was rough, especially with her mom's drinking habit, but she was making it all right.

I knocked on the window and waited for a few seconds before standing on my tiptoes and peering in myself. Quinn was holding up one finger as if to say one second while she was slipping on her shoes. She was wearing torn jeans and a faded t-shirt, which was her usual attire. She opened up her window. "Hey guys…back up." Puck and I took a few steps out while Quinn climbed out of the window and landed on her feet like a pro.

"How's things in there?" I questioned.

"You don't want to know." Quinn said with a shrug. "Can we stop at the corner mart? I haven't eaten all day." I felt bad because I knew her mom probably hadn't cooked her something in days. I thought about my mom's offer for dinner and decided I'd just ask her later.

We arrived at the corner mart only a few minutes later. "Here." I said handing Quinn a five dollar bill. She took it and I could tell she felt bad about it, but it wasn't a big deal. I didn't want her to feel like a charity case, I'd give Puck the same amount if he asked.

"What, you're not coming in?" Quinn asked with her hand on the door.

"That guy in there is a prick, he doesn't like me." I said.

"Come on." Quinn was shy despite the fact that she was so pretty. She didn't like doing anything alone, especially in this neighborhood. As far as I knew Quinn was the only white girl in the surrounding area, which meant everyone was a little suspicious of her. It was and wasn't a race thing. People in our neighborhood accepted Quinn with open arms, but of course there were always people who eyed her suspiciously every time they saw her.

The problem with this particular corner mart was that they had this guy, the cashier, who was originally from southern Ohio and he totally had something against Hispanics. He was a total racist and he didn't care if people knew. I wondered how he even stayed in business.

"Fine." I followed Quinn with Puck close behind. I felt the eyes of the cashier on me the whole time while Quinn grabbed _Easy Mac_ and _Ramen_, along with a soda to eat. We went up the cash register and Quinn sat the things down so the guy could scan them. He gave Quinn a once over and a smug grin formed on his face.

"Where ya live dollface?" He questioned with a toothy grin.

"None of your business." I told him looking him directly in the eyes.

"I wasn't talking to you. Surprised you even know English. Let me speak your language. Do you wanto a taco?" I was nearly fuming knowing full well that the hand on my back wasn't for moral support, it was so Puck could hold me back. "Stupid slut." He muttered before scanning the items.

Puck stepped between Quinn and I and gripped the counter top with both hands. Leaning in and glaring at the cashier. "You got a death with homie?" Puck questioned.

"You better get your filthy hands off my counter spic boy." I wished I would have been quicker, or at least grabbed Puck before the second punch. I pulled Puck back from jumping over the counter and Quinn reached over the counter to grab a bag to put her stuff in.

"Quinn would you hurry up?" I tried to grab her arm but she pulled away. She took a step back and kicked over there shelves with food all on them. It wasn't until we heard sirens coming close that we bolted from the store. The cop car was only about a store down, but it screeched to a halt and two cops jumped out. "Split." I shouted before bolting down the street while Puck went towards the back alley near the store and Quinn ran towards the bowling alley.

It figures that one of the cops would be chasing after me. I'm sure the other was running after Puck. Quinn would be the one to get away. I jumped over a fence in one stride while the cop behind me took a few seconds to get over it. I actually thought I was home free until I saw a cop car pull up right in front of me. Shit.

I turned around to see if I could evade the cop behind me but he had his gun drawn. I sighed and decided it would just be better if I gave up now. I put both my hands on my head. "Okay, you got me." I said defeated. The cuffs were tighter than they needed to be and I hated the way the cop gave me this satisfied expression like he was ridding the world of evil by arresting me. "I didn't even do anything." I said.

"Come on kid, save it." The cop said before pushing me into the back seat. The only thought that crossed my mind was, shit I'm screwed.

…

At least it was the summer. I didn't mind working at my dads shop during this time because plenty of people came by looking for fresh ingredients and I enjoyed the company. Sometimes my dad would even let me work the cash register but that was rare. Normally I kept the area in front of the store clean and stocked the shelves.

Right now, however, I was sitting behind the counter with a towel in my hand while Kurt was explaining how his dad almost made him work in the shop today.

"Okay kids, social hour is over." My dad said taking the towel from me and trading it for a broom.

"You know Mr. Berry I still don't understand why you won't just give me a job here." Kurt said as I walked around the counter.

"Because you two would talk nonstop and get about as much done as a toddler. You know I don't mind having you around though Kurt, just go outside and watch Rachel sweep and talk." My dad shooed us out the store just as some customers walked in. Kurt sat on the bench in front of the store while I swept the debris into a pile.

"Why doesn't your dad know that the last thing you want to do is work in his auto shop?" I asked Kurt.

"Trying not to break his heart again." Kurt said.

"You are so dramatic." I said dismissing his last comment. "So are we still going to that movie tonight?"

"What time?" Kurt questioned glancing at his watch.

"Um, well I have singing lessons at 4 and then ballet at 7, so how about 9?" I suggested. Kurt pretended to be checking the calendar on his phone for a moment before nodding. "And if you bring Blaine under false pretences again, I swear."

"False pretences, such as?" Kurt sassed back.

"Saying we're going out as friends even though Mercedes and I are there. It's more like a double date then not." I informed me.

"Oh I didn't know you and Mercedes were dating." Kurt said sarcastically.

"She's a lovely date." I replied sincerely. "You like him, you're cute together…just ask him out." I pleaded with Kurt.

"He should make the move. Or I sort of want him to. I'm just afraid that maybe he's not looking for a relationship right now." I envied Kurt because, even though he wasn't dating Blaine, at least he had the option to. The last time I went on a date was never and I never really found myself interested in anyone beyond friendship.

"Or maybe he's just as scared as you." I picked up the trash and scooped it into the garbage can. "Boys are just as confusing as girls." I said with a shrug.

"Well good for you, another perk of you being bisexual is that you can pick and choose." Kurt said with a clap of his hands.

"In case you haven't noticed, there has been no picking nor choosing. And besides I'm pansexual" I reminded him. "Just let me know what's going on so Mercedes and I will know what the best method of gossiping will be." I looked across the street and saw Brittany walking her obese cat on a leash and I smiled a little to myself.

"What are you-…oh." Kurt said with a knowing smirk.

"Oh? Why oh?" I questioned.

"Checking out Brittany I see." Kurt said with a little smug smile.

"I so wasn't!" I exclaimed, looking inside the store to make sure my father couldn't hear us. "Sorry the girl is walking her cat, not exactly something you see everyday." Brittany waved and Kurt and I waved back.

"I've seen you check her out before." Kurt said poking me in the shoulder.

"You saw wrong." I told him resting the broom against the front window. "What?" Kurt shook his head and shrugged as if to assure me that nothing was up. "I think she's cute, is that what you wanted to hear?" I questioned.

"Cute and…?"

"Cute and funny, but in a friendly sort of way. I don't like her. I think she's cute like I think her cat is cute, that's all." I explained. "Why are you pushing for me to go after people anyway?"

"I just want you to be happy." Kurt said wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm happy being a free spirit." I told him.

"That's probably what Charlie Manson said before he created a cult."

**Review and the entertain me on tumblr: ** blog/tryflashback


	2. I Promise

**Remember when I said I wouldn't be updating this for awhile, well I lied, I just couldn't stop myself from writing this. blog/tryflashback**

Santana's POV

"I'm very disappointed in you mija." I just kept my head down and listened, because the only thing worse than getting in trouble, was not listening to your parents. They were smarter, wiser, they'd been through things like this. I just couldn't look my mom in her eyes though and I hadn't since we'd gotten home. "Your dinner is on the stovetop, eat, shower and then go to bed, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." I nodded, but really understood that my mother wasn't blindsiding me like other parents would. She'd probably done something like this when she was a kid, so she gets it.

"Santana, do you understand what you did was wrong?" My father asked and I nodded. "That's not an answer."

"Yes sir." I said firmly.

"And you are willing to accept and take the consequences for your actions?" He questioned.

"Yes sir." I responded.

"That's all we can ask of you then. Now eat and hurry to bed." My father kissed the top of my head and my mother did the same before they retreated to their bedroom upstairs. I waited until I heard their door close and then I got up and grabbed my food and a fork, closing the silverware drawer with my hip before I went to the table and dug in.

What I did was stupid, running I mean, it's not like I actually did anything illegal. I wasn't going to abandon my friends though, and it wasn't like anyone would believe me even if I told the truth. So I was stuck with community service for six weeks, practically the whole summer. At least I wouldn't be alone.

"Hey Sanni, did you get in trouble?" I turned in my chair just to see my little siblings standing there with curious expressions on their faces. Lela, the oldest had always driven me crazy, but now it's even worse. She's 7, which is the age where kids are both curious and also have this sense of entitlement, like I owed her answers and she shouldn't even have to ask. This is why I was thankful for Rey, my little brother. He's four and such a sweetheart, he doesn't bother anyone and he's very quiet, I need him to balance out Lela.

"That's none of your business, and aren't you two supposed to be in bed?" I questioned. Lela put her hand on her hip as if to say _you can't tell me what to do_, and Rey climbed onto my lap as I finished my last bite of food.

"We were about to go to sleep when you came home." Lela sassed. I picked up Rey and put my plate in the sink. I walked upstairs with Lela next to me and went to their room. Lela climbed up on her top bunk while I place Rey gently on his bed. "So you really did get in trouble? I know how to get out of trouble, all you have to do is look really innocent, like this." She showed me her puppy dog eyes and pout. "And then you just blame someone else, it's simple."

"Where do you get this stuff from?" I questioned.

"MTV." She responded with a shrug.

"Start watching PBS." I commanded. I looked down at Rey who was looking up at me like he was expecting me to say something. "Rey, you've been quiet all day."

"He's always quiet, and ever since you came home he's been waiting for you." Lela said leaning over the top bunk to look down at him. "It's kinda freaky."

"Rey, remember what El Rey means?" I asked him.

"The king." He responded quietly.

"Yep, and the king gets anything he wants. So what do you want?" I asked.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight Sanni?" I literally have no idea why he even asked because he knows the answer is always yes. It was impossible to say no to my little brother.

"Of course." I picked him up and spun him in the circle getting him to smile for the first time today.

"He is such a baby." Lela said. I ignored her and turned off her light before going in my room and putting Rey in my bed. I went to go change into my pajamas and when I came out Rey was lying there looking right at me. I flicked off the lights and got under the covers, immediately feeling Rey cling to me.

"Were you scared to sleep in your room tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah." He responded.

"Don't be scared, I'll protect you." I assured him.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

…

Now I finally understood why people hated community service. It wasn't that you had to get up early or even that you had to do work, it was the fact that the jumpsuits were orange. No one in their right mind would ever wear orange unless it was mandatory. Oh and the fact that they gave us all _Paper Picks_ more than worried me. A bunch of delinquents with sharp objects should worry everyone.

The one thing I didn't mind about this whole thing was riding my bike to Lima. Of course my parents protested and of course I assured them it was okay, because I hated having them worry so much, and I promised that I wouldn't overdo it. My dad said I could drive his car if I needed to, but I'll save that offer for later.

A 30 minute bike ride later and I was at _Stonehenge_ park putting my bike where I could keep an eye on it, and sitting next to Puck and Quinn on a picnic table. "Probation officer says we're starting in three minutes, and that we get two breaks, twenty minutes each." Puck explained.

"Sounds good." I said.

"San, why did you take the fall? You didn't do shit." I looked at Quinn and her eyes which were a fiery hazel right now. "Puck punched the guy, I knocked over his shit, but all you did was run. You could've just said that."

"Hey it was my choice, okay? So leave it." I said as the probation worker started handing out garbage bags.

"Get to work!" He shouted as if _work_ was a punishment. Picking up trash wasn't really that bad, and Puck, Quinn, and I picked a spot near the sidewalk so we could watch people walk by, look at the cars as they drove by, and talk without being bothered. Lima was always sort of strange to me. I mean it wasn't that far from where we lived, but it was a completely new world. The streets were quiet, there were no people sitting out on their porches, and there wasn't even music playing.

"This place gives me the creeps." Puck said.

"That's cuz a whole bunch of white people live here." Quinn replied.

"Hey, TT, you're white too." I reminded her.

"Would you please stop calling me that?" Quinn commanded.

"Calling you what? White?" I said arching an eyebrow.

"No, TT. It's annoying." Quinn said. Puck and I exchanged glances before laughing. Quinn always complained about it, but that didn't mean it was going to stop. TT, or trailer trash, wasn't an insult, it was just like saying Puck instead of Noah. Luckily for us the first break was now, so we could sit down or do whatever we wanted. We saw a few of the others head towards a gas station, probably to get some food.

"We're defiantly getting some food during second break." Puck said. "Oh and word on the street is Nacho's having a party."

"I'm so in as long as-…oh hello." I said nudging Puck and Quinn at the same time. We all looked up to see a girl, a brunette girl, walking up the street. She was the first girl our age we'd seen the whole time we've been here. What kind of people would we be if we passed this up?

"Hey girl, why don't you come over here for a second?" Puck yelled towards her. I could see her glance over our direction for a moment before continuing on her way.

"Hey chula, get your fine ass over here!" I shouted. I could see the blush spread across her face after I said that causing me to laugh. This sort of thing happened everyday on my street it was just what people did. Quinn whistled at her. "Mamacita come on. I got more to offer you than an orange jumpsuit." I added watching as she pushed her hair back behind her ear and caught my eyes for a second before looking away.

"Hey come back!" Puck yelled throwing his arms out and standing up. We all watched as the girl disappeared down the street. "That was fun, girls out here are like quiet and they don't cuss you out."

"Yeah and they're probably really fucking weird." I said with a laugh. "Back to work guys…three more hours to go."

…

Rachel's POV

I've experienced some strange things in my life, but being harassed by three people doing community service was something new. I thought only construction workers did that, or at least that it was a thing only guys did. I was flattered actually, no one had ever gone out of their way to compliment me. Or at least I thought they were compliments, I'm not actually sure what _chula _or _mamacita_ means.

"Rachel, pay attention." My dad said snapping his fingers in front of my face. "I have to go to the warehouse to get more supplies, are you sure you can handle the cash register?" I nodded.

"Dad, don't worry, it's a slow day, it won't be a problem." We locked eyes for what seemed like forever before he blinked.

"Okay, I'll be right back." I nodded and waved him off. As soon as he was out of sight I walked over to the back door and opened it for Kurt.

"You should really put a bench back there." Kurt said getting behind the counter with me.

"So tell me how it went when he took you home." I pleaded with Kurt.

"Goodbye hug." Kurt responded resting his head on his hand as he leaned down on the counter. "I feel like I'm getting friend zoned." Kurt looked towards the door of the shop and his eyes widened. "Okay don't look now but I'm pretty sure three jail breakers are about to come in here." I looked over his shoulder and spotted the three people who had been harassing me earlier. The came in slowly, looking around. I could tell they hadn't seen me yet so I watched as they disappeared behind an aisle. "Please tell me your dad keeps pepper spray under the counter."

"It's fine." I assured him. I waited for them to round the corner and to my surprise it was the blond one who noticed me first. I could see her nudge her friends who looked up and waltzed over to the counter. They dropped their snacks on the counter and smiled.

"We meet again." The boy said. He had a mohawk and this sort of charming smile that wasn't forced at all. The blond looked like she was the quietest of the bunch, but her hazel eyes were sort of distracting in a good way because she looked honest. The other girl, though, she was clearly something special. She seemed down to earth, but also very confident. She was gorgeous, in the sort of way that other girls envy her for, but she didn't look like she cared about things like that.

"We never actually met." I replied as I started ringing up their items.

"Oh right, we shouted, you blushed." The blond said with a small smile.

"Exactly." I said taking the money from the Latina. My eyes went down to her lips and she gently bit down on her lip and her eyes travelled down my body. "Shameless, huh?" I said reaching out and lifting her head up so her eyes would be looking at my face not anything else.

"Sorry, where are our manners?" She said with a smile. "I'm Santana, this is Quinn, and this is Puck."

"I'm Rachel, and this is my friend Kurt." I said putting the things in a bag. I handed them to the blond and she immediately went into the bag to start eating some chips. "I've never seen you guys around here."

"We're from Lima Heights." Puck said. "Speaking of Lima Heights, there's a party over in those parts tonight. Wanna go?"

"Maybe some other time." I said. Puck shrugged and headed outside with Quinn close behind him. Santana just stayed there leaning against the counter. "I thought you'd all leave together." She shrugged and glared at Kurt until he was scared enough to walk around the counter and leave us alone.

"You really don't want to go?" She asked leaning towards me. I smiled as she took my hand. I pulled it back before she could hold it for too long. "Come on." I don't know if I was happy or upset that there was a counter between us. "I'll be there."

"I don't even know you." I replied trying to hold my ground.

"So get to know me." She said. "I think you'll like me."

"Hypothetically if I were to cave in where would this party be?" I questioned. She grabbed a pen from off the counter and hopped it. My breath hitched when she moved so close to me that my back was pressed against the counter. She took my hand and write down an address on it.

"Still thinking about it?" She had her hands on both sides of my body. Even if I wanted to escape I couldn't, but I was pretty sure I didn't want to anyway.

"Yeah." I said in a sort of breathy voice.

"How do I convince you?" This time when she leaned closer to me I was sure she was going to kiss me, but instead she pushed against the counter and backed away. "I'll see you tonight." She said sliding over the counter and landing on her feet.

"I never said I was coming." I yelled after her. She turned and backed further towards the door.

"You will be later." She said it with a wink and it took me a second before the blush spread across my face understanding what she just said. She left the shop and Kurt came around the corner.

"If you go to that party I'll kill you myself." Kurt warned.

"It might be fun." I said with a shrug, plus it would give me a chance to see Santana again.

"Lima Heights? Even your dads would be a little worried about that. Plus you can't go there alone." Kurt said grabbing my shoulders to make sure I listened.

"I can take care of myself, plus…something tells me that there's more to those kids than community service." I explained.

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a gut feeling…and you know me." I looked down at the address neatly written on my hand. "I always go with my gut."

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	3. Two Gringas

Santana's POV

"You can't go because you can't go." I told Lela as I pulled on my skinny jeans. She continued jumping on my bed even though I've told her a million times not to.

"That's not a reason." She said throwing a million at me and knocking over my nail polish. She was the most frustrating little devil in the world. Everything I said she had to contradict. She never did this with mom, never. It was like she was out to get me or something.

"It's reason enough. This is a party for teenagers so wait ten years and then you can go." I check my look in the mirror and shrugged, it wasn't like I was looking to pick up anyone or something, I was just looking for fun. "Rey, _que haces_?" He was holding my phone in his hand, but not playing anything.

"I just want to make sure you don't forget it." He walked over and handed me my phone.

"Are you worried about me?" I asked him expecting an honest answer in return.

"I just want you to be happy and safe." I picked him and sat him down on my dressed so that he could be closer to me while I fixed my clothes. "Where are you going?"

"Nacho's. I should be back at around 3 or something." I informed him. I knew he'd be asleep so it didn't really mean anything by telling him. He was young, but he was almost too much like my father. I thought by telling him that I'd be home it would put his mind at ease.

"Are you gonna drink? Or kiss boys?" Lela seemed a little too excited about the prospect of me doing either one of those things. I thought 7 year olds were supposed to like Legos or something.

"Mind your business." I told her before kissing Rey on the cheek and setting him down on the floor. "You're getting mighty heavy there. When are you gonna start picking me up?" I asked him. He giggled and wrapped his arms around my leg, trying to lift me off the ground. "Almost." I told him as I patted his head and led my two siblings out of my room and into theirs. I heard the doorbell ring and I looked towards the steps. "That's Selena."

"Tell _tia_ to come upstairs." Lela said like I was her personal assistant.

"Yes ma'am, anything else?" I questioned.

"Actually, yes, if you'd like to bring me a soda that would be nice." I rolled my eyes and skipped down the steps. I opened the front door and there was Selena standing there and Quinn leaning up against the railing on my porch.

"I picked up your gringa on the way over here." Quinn and I both laughed at that while Selena walked on inside. Selena was in her mid-twenties, and she'd been my siblings babysitter for awhile. You could pretty much find anyone for the job, but Lela really seemed to like her, and apparently, Rey actually talked to her, so that made my parents and I happy. She was sort of playful too, in the way that she joked with Quinn and didn't make her feel out of place.

Gringa, around here meant friend from the outside, and that's what Quinn sort of was. I had a feeling Quinn liked it a lot better than TT. "The munchkins are upstairs, I'll be back late, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, have fun, but if I find out you did something stupid you'll have to answer to me." She warned me as she kissed my cheek. "You too." Quinn reluctantly walked over to get her kiss on the cheek. "Bye now." I slid past her and left my house following Quinn down my front steps.

"Where's Puckerman?" I asked.

"Already there, apparently." Quinn said with a shrug. I studied her, the way she was slouching a little bit now.

"So your mom-."

"Don't want to talk about it." She said cutting me off and silencing the subject right there. I knew not to push things with her; she could get really heated sometimes, even to the point where she scared me. I didn't like that she was probably only going to this party to get drunk and forget about her home situation, but what could I do to stop her? I wasn't her boss and I certainly wasn't her keeper, so I decided to just drop it.

"That community service was nothing man." I said wrapping my arm around her shoulder. As we walked under a streetlight I noticed what she was wearing for the first time. "What the fuck are those sweatpants?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" I pulled my arm back.

"Damn straight I got a problem with that. I ain't showin up at no fucking party with a girl on my arm in sweatpants." I told her.

"Tough shit." Quinn said as we rounded the corner and headed straight for Nachos house. The music was blasting, and from the shadows, I could see through the blinds, there were a lot of people dancing. I thought I was going to have to look for Puck but he came running out towards us with this goofy grin on his face.

"What took you guys so long?" He asked.

"How much did you smoke?" I asked him as soon as I could see his eyes clearly. He was stoned, but not too out of it. At least he still had all his clothes on. When I realized he wasn't going to answer I grabbed his arm and led him back inside. Quinn was close behind me, sort of looking over my shoulder at everything.

"Stop being shy and get a beer." I said to Quinn. She pushed past a few guys and grabbed two beers, one for me and the other for her.

"Oh San!" I could see Nacho stop dancing with a girl to come over and greet me. "Hey and you brought the gringa! Could tonight be my lucky night?" I looked at Quinn who was sort of shying around behind me pretending like she couldn't hear him. He'd been crushing on her for a while, but we all knew nothing would ever come of it.

"In your dreams." I told him with a little shove. I scanned the room, trying to see if there was anyone worth talking to or chilling with. "Hey why isn't Loqui here?" I asked. He was normally the life of the party, going around trying to pick up girls, getting drunk off his ass, but Loqui stands for both _loco_ and loquacious, I came up with it last year.

"Oh he's upstairs. You guys want to go up?" He asked. I looked over at Puck who was swaying to the beat of the music and bobbing his head like a moron.

"Looks like my friend already went up." The unofficial rules were you only went upstairs for two thing, ass and weed. I wasn't looking for trouble of either kind tonight so I nodded over at Quinn. "She wants to go, take Puck too." I said.

"No, it's cool, I'll stay down here with you." Quinn offered.

"Bullshit, go, have fun." I urged her. I sat down on the couch next to Juan Carlos and his brother Ramiro. I watched them both head upstairs while I sipped on my beer and enjoyed the company. "Hey where's your polola?" There was this Chilean family down the street, so we all picked up some slang from them, but the one we used most was polola or pololo, which basically meant girlfriend and boyfriend.

"In the wind." I knew what that meant so really I felt bad for Juan because he'd been with his girl for like two years.

"Sorry man." I said. "Dance?" I offered him hoping he'd say no so I could go over and grab another beer.

"I would, but…leg's all fucked up." I nodded and stood to go grab a beer. I was going to return to my seat when I saw the last person I'd ever expect to show up. That little short chick from earlier actually showed. I couldn't believe it. She walked in and clearly she was looking around for a familiar face. I just stayed were I was leaning up against the counter drinking my beer just waiting for her to come to me.

It was kind of funny the way she had stand on her tiptoes to look over the crowd but even then I could tell that she hadn't spotted me yet. When she finally made it through the crowd and over just a few feet from me. I would've laughed at the fact that she still didn't see me and that she was turned away from me completely when I was right here.

"Nice ass." I said causing her to whip her body around look at me. The blush on her face made me bite down on my lip so I wouldn't burst out laughing. "Your boyfriend's upstairs." I informed her.

"Boyfriend?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Puck, he's upstairs." I imitated the smoking motions and she nodded her head.

"You down here all alone? Why aren't you upstairs too?" She asked standing in front of me.

"I don't smoke." I informed her.

"You're sort of quiet now. You seemed pretty confident earlier." She said resting her hand on my left arm. I smirked as a continued drinking my beer. "Shy?" She asked taking the beer out of my hands and drinking it until it was all gone. I'll admit I was a little surprised by that move but I just casually reached back and grabbed another beer.

"Nice dress." I said looking down at the tight fitting back dress. It wasn't modest but it certainly wasn't slutty.

"Nice ass and nice dress, you're not really one for pickup lines, huh? You won't get anywhere by saying things like that." She was sort of feisty in a miniature poodle sort of way. "I'll dance with you if you ask nicely." I laughed at her forwardness and nodded towards Quinn and Puck telling them to come over.

"Hey girl." Puck said wrapping his arms around Rachel's shoulders.

"Two gringas Santana, where do you find these girls?" Nacho asked.

"I've lived for a while asshole." Quinn said.

"You've offended TT." I told Nacho. That must have offended Quinn even more before she shoved me back and I was knocked into the wall so hard that the bottle dropped from my hands and crashed on the floor. "What the fuck? Just cause you're stoned that doesn't mean I won't take you outside and kick your ass." I warned Quinn who still was glaring at me unfazed. "Must have been some really fucking good stuff to have you acting like that." I knew when she was high she always acted completely different, angry mostly, and she talked a lot more.

"Can't believe you showed." Quinn said looking at Rachel.

"Wow you've really got a beautiful smile." Puck said wiggling his eyebrows at Rachel.

"Saying you like my smile so you can get a blow job doesn't work." She said looking directly at Puck. Quinn and I leaned into each other laughing at the expression on Puck's face. "Now, if you don't want to dance, then I guess I'll just dance with him." She grabbed Nacho's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.

Quinn were too stoned to even notice the way her hips were moving. I wasn't.

After Quinn making me drop that beer I decided that a plastic cup would be better. So I fixed myself a drink and watched her dance from where I was standing. She kept her eyes on me for most of the time, and I didn't care if she saw me watching her.

"Oh shit this is my song!" Puck yelled directly in my ear.

"Nossa, nossa, assim voc me mata." I sang along with Quinn as we made our way to the dance floor. There were just certain songs that made everyone run to the dance floor and this was one of them. Rachel looked around as everyone began to do the same motions. "You don't know this song do you?" I asked. I pushed my hand against Nacho's chest forcing him to go somewhere else to dance. "You gotta move like this." I showed her the movements but she still looked a little lost. "Like this-." I got behind her, my chest resting on her shoulder and I moved our bodies together. "Ai se eu te pego, ai ai se eu te pego." I whispered in her ear to the beat of the song.

"Like this?" She asked as she wrapped her arm back around my neck and pulling our bodies closer together.

"Yeah like that." She knew how to move, I'll give her that, but kissing her right now was out of the question. I knew Puck wanted his chance and plus I promised myself today was just about fun nothing more.

"Having fun?" Quinn shouted over the music. I smirked and pulled away from Rachel.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Take care of her." I said and Quinn nodded. I didn't know if I was going to sneak out or not, maybe I should just call it a night.

…

Rachel's POV

I was a little disappointed that Santana left the dance floor. She was a good dancer, sexy without trying. I could feel that she was a little disconnected though, and if I could get a chance to talk to her alone, then I would ask her. "I'm gonna take a smoke outside, join me?" I nodded and followed Quinn outside. She stopped on the porch and lit up a cigarette.

The light from her cigarette and the street lights were the only sources of illumination I could see. I wanted to ask Quinn about the way she blew up at Santana earlier. They both brushed it off like it was nothing, but I was curious to see if it happened all the time. "You're ballsy." She said nonchalantly.

"I'm not afraid to come to Lima Heights." I explained to her.

"Never said you were." She said with a shrug. "But maybe you should be. A white girl in Lima Heights at night? Almost unheard of."

"You're white though." I said.

"That's why I said _almost_. I live here, I know people, you don't. But you want to get to know Santana, huh?" She said with an amused grin. "Well first things first, you should know she doesn't give a fuck about you. She cares about family and friends, that's something serious to her, and everyone around here."

"That might change in the future." I said hoping that eventually I could get to know Santana a little better than just at a party.

"Maybe…" Quinn said taking a drag of her cigarette. "Oh and you should know that San's a fucking genius. Ask her about anything and she knows." I didn't get it, was she playing wingman for Santana or not? "And her dad's like a military dude so she's all about respect." I nearly burst into laughter about that.

"Respect? You guys were practicing cat calls earlier today."

"See, this is the problem, don't talk about something you know nothing about." She warned me. "Out here, if you see a beautiful girl you tell her otherwise it's an insult to her. It's just a natural thing for us."

"Oh." I said actually surprised by that answer.

"The other thing is, if people give you a hard time about the fact that you're white, it's all in good fun-."

"TT, wassup?" Santana said wrapping her arm around Quinn who didn't look happy. I guessed that Santana had at least two more drinks while she was inside because her words slurred a bit. "Dude I need to get the fuck out of here before I do something stupid."

"Letting lose doesn't have to be bad." I told her.

"Rebellion is for kids rookie." She said with a smirk.

"Says the girl doing community service." She laughed at that and so did Quinn. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

"Who says I'm gonna go all the way to your little store?" She questioned.

"Trust me…" I pulled her body closer to mine, making sure that our lips were only centimeters apart. "You will."

**Review, but also if you want to talk to me about Glee or Pretty Little Liars, because I've got a lot to say, message me or go on my tumblr: Tryflashback.**


	4. You Reminded Me Of Someone

**Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"Seriously, the girl was standing there, legs wide open, practically begging for you to fuck her. What gives Lopez?" Listening to Puck go on and on about this was actually getting to me by now. For the first time in a long time I just wanted to be alone.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Quinn said so I wouldn't have to. I think she understood that I didn't want to talk about it at all. Rachel was just some girl, a girl from the right side of the tracks, I wasn't interested in anything right now. "We'll be done in two minutes, did you bike here?" Quinn asked even though she saw my bike. I had a feeling she just wanted to have a discussion about it, but we wouldn't end up talking about much of anything with Puck around.

"Let's go to that girl Rachel's store." Puck sounded way too enthusiastic about the whole thing. I didn't understand him. If he wanted her then why the hell didn't he dance with her last night?

"Fine." I said feeling relieved as soon as the probation officer called us in to say we could go home now. I grabbed my bike and rode alongside Quinn and Puck as we headed over to the store. I didn't know if I should park my bike outside and just leave it there, so I told Quinn and Puck I was staying outside, and gave Quinn five dollars to get herself something to eat.

While I waited I thought about last night. About dancing with Rachel, about almost kissing her. I know not to get attached to someone like her. She was a girl from the suburbs, one of those types who is sort of rebellious but knows nothing about consequences. It didn't matter, because I know Puck was inside probably flirting his ass off, that girl would fling herself at him in a matter of seconds. It wasn't about attraction for her; she was probably just trying to piss off her parents.

I stayed on my bike, sitting there and waiting. I checked my cell phone a few times, to make sure the kids hadn't called. I still had about two hours until I needed to be home to babysit them.

I turned towards the door as soon as I saw Quinn exit. "Where's Puck?" I asked.

"He's out back having a smoke with Rachel." Quinn explained. I nodded my head telling her to get on the bars coming out of the spokes on my bike so that she could steady herself and we could ride around to the other side of the building. Quinn was always sort of afraid to do this, I guess she didn't trust my bike riding skills, but we made it too the back of the store without incident.

We found Rachel leaning up against the wall, while Puck sitting on a pile of boxes and smoking. Quinn jumped off and bummed a smoke from Rachel and she lit up herself. All I did was ride around the back, occasionally doing one trick or another, when I found myself getting bored. "Hey BMX superstar, want a smoke?" Rachel offered.

"No thanks." I said holding my breath as I rode past them.

"What are you some kind of prude?" She asked putting out her cigarette and walking over towards me. I rode around her, a small circle occasionally watching her eyes as she watched me.

"Maybe." I joked putting my foot down to stop my motion. "Maybe not." And then I started riding around again. Puck reached in his pocket and looked at his phone.

"Mani's here to pick Quinn and I up, call us when you get home San." I nodded and waved goodbye to both of them as they left Rachel and I alone at the back of her shop. I continued riding around Rachel, watching her with amusement. She must have been a sweetheart, I could tell that just by looking in her eyes, but there was something else about her, something challenging, it bothered me that I couldn't figure it out.

"You look like a badass, you dance like a badass, but cigarettes scare you? I don't get it." She said putting her hands on my handlebars and looking directly in my eyes. "I don't get you."

"You're looking to understand someone after one day?" I questioned. "That's insulting to me, I'm complex, people are complex."

"So tell me one thing, last night when we were dancing, why didn't you kiss me?" I was sort of taken aback by her forwardness. It was bound to come up maybe in the future, but I wasn't expecting this conversation now. Nor was I expecting the way she looked at me to become so intense, so filled with curiosity.

"I didn't want to." I said simply.

"You wanted to." She countered pulling on my handlebars so I was forced to be closer to her. I put both my feet down on the ground in order to stay balanced.

"Don't tell me what I want." I warned her.

"Do you think I'm easy? Come on, look at me." She urged touching her hand to my cheek. "Do you think that I'd go home with you right now?" I hated the way her hand touched my face, like she had all the power in the world. I didn't know where she was going with this, but I did care enough to stay around.

"What are you trying to prove?" I questioned.

"I think I just proved it." I had no idea what she was talking about, but the small smile on her face let me know that it couldn't have been that bad. "If you want, I'll be done working in like 30 minutes…maybe I could come over to your place or something?" Was she inviting herself out on a date?

"I have to babysit." I told her truthfully.

"Oh wow you are too cute for words." I couldn't help but let the laugh escape from my lips as I tried to avoid her gaze. "Seriously, they don't make cuties like you here in Lima." I bit my bottom lip and glanced down at her lips, not bad at all.

"I should get going." I started.

"So soon?" She asked playfully.

"I'll see you around." I was off and around the corner before I knew it. Trying desperately to get Rachel off my mind. She was forward and passive, and I was completely conflicted by her whole presence. I should just cool it for a while, no matter what she was still some girl from Lima, crossing the lines could blur everything.

…

Rachel's POV

I liked her. I liked her a lot. I mean I lied to her earlier about her being cute, because, hell, she was a bombshell, but I didn't want her to get cocky. But she totally had the right to be cocky if she wanted to. God, what I would give to have her body against mine again.

Which was why I was making this move. This crazy wild move, but when I left my house twenty minutes ago, it seemed rational. I just…there was something so fascinating about her. I wanted to talk to her longer, without the distraction of her friends.

It took me driving up and down the street, turning every which way for about ten minutes until I caught a glimpse of Santana in the window and I found the house myself. I parked in the street, noticing that there were no cars in Santana's driveway. I hoped that meant that her parents weren't home.

I got out and walked up to the front door. I rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for Santana to open the door. When the door finally did open and a little boy stood in front of me I was a little surprised. "Hi." I said with a smile, kneeling down so that I was at eye level with him. "Is Santana home?"

He backed up and let me inside. The house was neat and orderly, but I could see a few toys on the ground and the TV was on, but Santana was nowhere in sight. I looked down at the boy at my side, his big brown eyes were looking up at me and I smiled. "Where is Santana?"

"Rey, quien es?" Her voice was slightly muffled but I could hear footsteps coming down the steps. Then I heard running and a girl was standing in front of me. "I told you never to answer the door without looking-." Just then she spotted me and for the briefest of moments, it almost seemed like she didn't recognize me. Almost like this was our first encounter. "What are you doing here?" It didn't sound like she was angry, but I couldn't be so sure. She was sort of frozen in place in the threshold of the door while the young boy stood behind me and the girl stood right in front of me looking up at me.

"Hi, I'm Lela, what's your name?" She held out her hands which I took happily.

"I'm Rachel I'm a friend of your-…" I looked up at Santana, wondering if I'd completely misjudged her age. I wondered if the boy was actually her kid and maybe the girl too. Who knows?

"Like hell if you think these runts are mine. They're my siblings." She said walking over and picking up the boy, holding him in her arms and poking him, lightly, on the cheek. "Rey, habla porfa. Tell her what your name is."

"My name is Rey." He said it so quickly and quietly that I had to strain to hear him, but when I did he wrapped his arms around Santana's neck and buried his face under her chin, avoiding all eye contact with him.

"He's shy." Santana said setting him down on the ground. "Go upstairs; grab your pajama pants and my phone. Go with him Lela." I could see the girl roll her eyes but she obeyed, taking her little brother's hand and exiting the room and running upstairs.

I watched as Santana moved around the room, almost in a meticulous manner. Grabbing three bottles of pills, separating them, opening them and taking four tablets out. I watched as she cut the pills and grabbed a container of peanut butter. She took a spoon, dipped it in the container, and got a spoonful of peanut butter. Then she put the pills in the middle of the peanut butter, put out the pill containers, and licked her fingers.

"Why are you at my house?" She finally asked. "What if my parents don't allow me to have people over when they're not here."

"A girl like you? I doubt it." I said moving closer to her and leaning against the counter just like she was.

"A girl like me, huh?" She smiled knowingly. "You don't know shit about me."

"I'd like to." I said truthfully, biting down on my bottom lip and moving closer to her. "I really would."

"Well how about we start with the fact that I don't like surprises. You coming here out of the blue isn't cool. People don't just do that, not around here."

"Well maybe you could explain the rules to me sometime." I suggested.

"Are all the girls from Lima like that?" She questioned with a shake of her head.

"Like what?" I asked innocently.

"Like-."

"Estoy aqui!" Rey came running into the room, wearing his pajama pants while Lela walked in, slowly, holding Santana's phone in her hand. "Tana Tana Tana, hurry!" Santana laughed at her little brother before handing him the spoon which he happily stuck in his mouth. It only took him a few seconds to suck the spoon clean before he handed it back to Santana.

"Here's your phone." Lela said practically shoving the phone towards Santana who took it and checked her messages. "Are you Santana's friend?"

"I-…"

"No she's not." Santana answered for me.

"Are you Santana's girlfriend?" I blushed but shook my head no, not even brining myself to answer that one outside. "How tall are you?"

"I'm 5'1." I said proudly. Santana put her phone in her pocket and stepped much closer to me.

"5'8, you're a little shrimp." Santana said with a laugh.

"Santana! That's so mean, oh my god you can't just be mean to her in our house. If papa were here he'd yell at you." Lela said scolding her sister. "Rachel, do you want to hang out in the other room?"

"Yeah I'll be in there in just a moment." Lela looked over at Santana for a second before exiting the room.

"Okay, you ready Rey?" Santana asked reaching into a drawer and pulling out an inhaler. "Time to make you super strong." She handed the boy the inhaler and bent down so that she was at eye level with him. "One…two…three!" The boy stuck the inhaler in his mouth, gave it a little squeeze and breathed in. He looked so accomplished after he did that, he even started poking Santana ferociously on the shoulder and he whispered something in her ear. "He wants to know if you want some super air." Santana with a half-smile, holding the inhaler out.

"No thank you." I said. Rey shrugged his shoulders and ran into the other room to be with Lela. Santana put everything up before taking my hand and pulling me towards the living room. "He's so cute." I beamed.

"Yep, runs in the family." Santana said with a cocky grin. "The runts are watching cartoons on Netflix, I don't know if you want to watch too or-."

"Of course I would." I said that partially because I hadn't seen cartoon in a while, but also because both Lela and Rey were on the floor, which meant I'd be sitting next to Santana on the couch alone. How could I pass that up? Santana and I took seats on the couch, while the kids were watching the TV attentively.

I saw Santana look at her phone twice, the second time I looked too. It was a text from Quinn, it just read _Not the time_. A frown formed on Santana's face and then she put her phone back in her pocket. "Is everything okay?" I asked, the look she gave me let me know that it wasn't actually my place. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Her gaze softened to the point that I wanted to hold her hand. "Hey I'll be right back." She stood up, pulling her phone out of her pocket and heading back into the kitchen. I could hear her talking on the phone, but clearly she was trying to be quiet. I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Lela asked turning to look up at me.

"Nowhere, just to talk to Santana." She nodded but for some reason it felt like she didn't believe me. I walked towards the kitchen and paused in the threshold of the door, hearing part of Santana's conversation by default.

"…Quinn just come over here, it's fine, you're not a burden you're my best friend." Her back was to me and she had this slight hunch as she stood there. "Fucking hell Q, get out of there, do you want me to come over?" She began pacing, for a few moments and then she stopped. "Stop talking like that! You're scaring me." I wondered what was going on but I was too intrigued to ask. "Fine then go to Puck's place…no, Rachel is over…oh my God are you being serious right now? You can still come here we're not doing anything like _that_." I had an idea about what_ that _meant and it made me blush involuntarily.

"Hey." I said. Santana spun around on her heels, looked right at me, and held up her finger as if to say _one moment_.

"Quinn I hate when you do this, it worries me…you know that's different…no I don't have pepper spray or a knife, I don't need that…no I don't Q, I can take care of myself…what's that supposed to mean?" She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet. "Fine, but just call later." She hung up the phone and looked at me again.

"That was Quinn right, seemed like something was up."

"Drama at home as per usual." Santana said shaking her head. "You should go over to her place and cheer her up." She wink and I had no option but to blush.

"You're ridiculous." I said playfully smacking her arm.

"I'm thoughtful." She replied. "It's getting late and if my parents knew I had a Lima girl over they'd freak."

"They don't like people from outside of the Heights?" I questioned skeptically.

"No, by _freak_ I meant they'd offer to adopt you and make you dinner and knit you socks, it's all be a little too much. I'm actually saving you from a real crazy welcome." She said taking my hand again. I decided right away that I liked how it felt, and even more when she toyed with my fingers as we walked. "Hey munchkins, I'll be back in a second." She told her siblings.

"Kiss her goodnight." Lela said without even looking up from the TV screen. I didn't have to see Santana's face to know she'd rolled her eyes.

We left the house and started towards my car. "Ai Ai mamacita, what's your name?" Santana looped her arm around my waist and pulled me close to her looking around. I didn't notice the man walking by until now. Santana glared at him until her turned away and continued walking on.

"My knight in shining armor." I joked causing Santana to laugh.

"They'll bother you unless they think you're with someone." She explained to me opening my car door for me. "You know how to get out of here?" She asked me as I got in. I closed my door and quickly rolled down my window.

"Yeah I know a really easy way." I told her. She leaned down her face close to mine, and again I thought she was going to kiss me. It felt right, even if it would be spontaneous, it would feel so right.

"Sorry…you uh…you reminded me of someone for a second there." She said almost solemnly.

"Who?"

"No one." She said pushing off my car and standing to her feet. "Bye, I'll see you around…well probably tomorrow."

"I'll have snacks ready for you guys, and if you want to hang out afterwards…" I was too embarrassed to continue, but Santana didn't seem to mind.

"Sure why not? I'll drive the car tomorrow then."

"Bye." I said as I sped off. Occasionally, looking in the side mirrors to make sure Santana was still watching me drive away. She was.

**Review. What do you guys think Quinn's home life should be like? And do you think Santana should meet Rachel's parents this early on?**


	5. Quinn, Stop

**Okay so be prepared for this chapter to get sort of intense at the end. Like in most of my stories things happen for a reason, so don't jump to conclusions about why the characters act a certain way. Enjoy.**

Rachel's POV

I was expecting them to show up earlier. They usually have two breaks, so I thought they'd be here to grab a snack, but this was okay too, just a little more awkward. Kurt was here now, which meant he'd eye Santana curiously, and she wouldn't back down in the least bit. It wasn't just that either, I was wearing short jean shorts, and a loose fitting v-neck tank top, with two necklaces and earrings on as well. Kurt had been asking me why I was wearing jewelry, and of course as soon as he saw Santana he knew exactly why.

"Where's your posse?" I asked as Santana walked in alone. She'd changed too, out of her orange jumpsuit and into jeans and a white v-neck. Leave it to her to make the simplest outfit look that amazing.

"Puck's brother took them to a burger joint off somewhere or another." She walked over and leaned against the counter. Kurt grabbed a stool and sat down, keeping his eyes transfixed on Santana. "Does your boy have an eye problem?" She asked glaring at Kurt who flinched in response.

"No, Kurt be nice." I told him, nudging his shoulder.

"Hi, how are you?" Kurt said plastering on a fake smile.

"Just peachy." Santana said sarcastically. "What about you? You look like you're gonna smack me or something? What's the deal with that? Did I offend you?"

"Not in the slightest." Kurt said shortly.

"He's just very overprotective." I explained as a grabbed my purse and walked around to the other side of the counter.

"Well I'm not the Boogyman." She said leaning close to Kurt. "You've got nothing to be afraid of." If Kurt could he probably would have screamed, but I seriously doubted that he could even speak at this point. I immediately walked over to the other side of the counter and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"Kurt, I'm heading home, if you want to stay and listen to my dad talk about food products then suit yourself, but otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow." Santana led the way out to her car. She unlocked the doors and we got in. I noticed that Santana was quieter than before, but then again I've noticed that sometimes she was incredibly shy.

"What's the deal with that kid? He's actually pissing me off." Santana said tightening the grip on the steering wheel as she drove.

"He doesn't trust you." I told her honestly. "And it doesn't actually help when you scare him like that." She tried to hold back a laugh with no avail. "He looks harmless, but get him angry just once and you'll learn not to do it again."

"He doesn't scare me in the slightest." Santana said calmly.

"Maybe that's your problem. No one scares you and then one day you'll learn what other people are actually capable of." I wished I could film her, just to understand why her facial expressions stayed the same. How even when she was faced with such a loaded statement, it didn't move her, it didn't anger her, her indifference was almost frustrating.

"You trying to diagnose me or something? If you're looking to tell me what my problems are then we can just turn around right now." I shook my head no and she continued on driving. "So is that Kurt guy like your best friend?"

"Yep, and he has been for years." I told her. I found it rather impressive that she'd remember the exact directions I'd told her when we first got in the car. She never asked for reassurance she just drove and we ended up in my driveway in no time.

"Who's the blondie?" I opened my mouth to ask her what she was talking about, but then I spotted Brittany waiting on my porch. She waved at me and I waved back tentatively, wondering why she came over here. Santana got out of the car first, but she stayed back by the car as I approached Brittany.

"Hey Brittany, what are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I was just hanging around the neighborhood and I thought I'd stop by." She easily looked over my shoulder and spotted Santana. "Wow, who's that?" Brittany said biting her nails and she eyed Santana.

"A friend. Santana!" She looked up from where she was leaning against her car, pushed her weight against the vehicle and walked over to stand beside me. "Brittany this is Santana, Santana this is Brittany."

"Nice to meet you." Santana said. Brittany looked so stunned just by Santana's presence that I had to nudge her to make her blink. "Rachel must be very popular, having two girls at her house at once." The way she said it made it seem like less of a joke and more like she was _jealous_. I decided that it would be best to just get rid of Brittany now, so Santana wouldn't feel awkward or annoyed like she felt around Kurt.

"Well Brittany, I'll see you later on tonight for practice, but I was just expecting to hang out with Santana for now." Brittany nodded, almost as if she was expecting it from the beginning, and she hopped off my porch and walked happily down my driveway. I opened the door and let Santana in, I was too nervous to see how she reacted to my home, but from the silence I could tell that she was impressed.

"This place is ridiculous." Santana muttered as she followed me up my spiral stairs and down the extended hallway and into my room. "For fucks sake, pink? Really?" I laughed as she looked around my room at my posters, trophies, and even my pictures. I sat on my bed and watched her. Every so often she'd make some comment, poking fun at me, but all I could do was smile. "So you're a dancer?"

"Ballet, contemporary, and jazz." I explained.

"No hip-hop huh?" She joked.

"Brittany does hip hop dance, the girl you just met." I told her.

"Yeah I could tell." She said with a shrug. I raised an eyebrow at that. How could she tell? It's not like Brittany had mention it. "Her legs, they're dancer's legs, and plus girls got swag, no denying that."

"You're so observant." I said sarcastically.

"Sarcasm is not appreciated." She said as she held one of my trophies. "You've got about a million of these. I'm impressed."

"What about you? You look like a soccer player or something."

"I wish…but no, I never really got the chance to do things like sports when I was younger." There was a story behind that but I didn't think now was the time to ask. "Wow check this out, you sing too? You must be something special." She said it with a sense of certainty and I felt like from now on I'd be obligated to keep my performances up.

"Average at most." I said patting a spot next to me on the bed which Santana happily took.

"You don't get the right to be modest. This house is crazy amazing, and you've got stacks of trophies over there. If you're good then don't be afraid to tell me." Her hand was pressed up against the bed behind me, and I could feel her fingers grazing my wrist as we sat in silence for a moment. "Do you wanna watch something?"

"Yeah, I don't know what you like but…" I stood up and walked over to the shelf that contained DVDs and CDs. I bent over to see what good movies I had to watch. Drama or horror were the only options at this point, maybe a comedy would do if I wanted to display what kind of humor I liked. "Preferences?" I asked.

"Mind-bending." She said.

"Really?" I wasn't shocked but I was intrigued. I thought back to how Quinn told me that Santana was indeed very intelligent. At the time I brushed it off as just something said while Quinn was stoned out of her mind, but there was the possibility that she was right. "_The Illusionist_." I offered as a suggestion.

"I thought I was the only one who liked that movie." I said pulling the movie out. I put it in my DVD player and returned to my bed to sit next to Santana. "Light on or off?" I asked while the previews were playing.

"Off." She said as she lifted her body up and moved further back so that she could sit against the headboard. I turned off the light. At first I sat a few inches from her, but when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder I scooted a bit closer.

Like before I expected her to kiss me, or at least that's what I wanted, but she didn't even think I could feel her fingers moving towards my thighs and touching me lightly there. I liked that her touches were so soft that they were almost innocent, almost. Suddenly she stopped and lifted her arm over my head just to let it rest in her lap. "It's okay." I told her. "It doesn't bother me."

"I just…it's been awhile since…" I had a feeling that if the lights were on she'd be blushing right now.

"When was your last relationship? Or do you not do relationships?" I added the second part jokingly, but the frown on her face made me realize that I might have hit a nerve.

"A few months ago…it was…a long story. But what about you? You're kinda like…a bad girl around here, huh?" I laughed as so did she.

"I guess to a point I am. But it's not that I'm bad, I'm just a _free spirit_." I said with a smile. "Comes with having two dads I guess." Her reaction was a mix of _holy shit_ and astonishment. "That's right, ready to run away yet?"

"No, you're actually pretty interesting." She said with a smile.

"You sound surprised." I said realizing that we were no longer even trying to watch the movie.

"I am." She told me honestly. "I sorta thought you were a scrub earlier. Doing the whole rebellious thing just to piss off daddy, but you're the real deal."

"I still don't understand you though. A bad ass who babysits? You're like a walking contradiction."

"I'm doing community service because of something my friends did. I'm not a _bad ass_, leave that shit to Quinn and Puck." She assured me. "If my dad was around for most of my childhood then everything would probably be different. I learned most of my lessons from the streets, not from him."

"Where was he?" I asked.

"Overseas, somewhere in the Middle East, but he never talks about it." She said with a shrug. "Then he came back for months at a time, but that still meant he was gone a lot. I also thought my mom resented him for leaving her with us, but…I don't know, she doesn't talk about it either." I didn't expect her to open up about this, but I was happy she did. It meant she at least trusted me a little. From the way she acts with Puck and Quinn, that was a big step.

"But you grew up with Puck and Quinn?"

"Yeah that's the basic jest of it." She slid off the bed and offered her hand to me which I took. "When we walked by this earlier I wondered what was inside." I knew which room she was talking about right away. I allowed her to take me inside. There was a drum set, a piano, six guitars, two being acoustic, and a recording studio behind a see-through window and a door. "Whoa."

"Yeah, I've always wanted to sing and my fathers designed this room themselves. I love it. Anytime, any mood, this is the place to go." Santana walked over and touched one of the acoustic guitars and smiled.

"May I?"

"Of course. I play around with the guitars sometimes, but I have no clue how to-." Suddenly Santana started strumming the guitar at a rapid pace, the notes coming out fluidly and perfectly. She walked slowly in a circle as she played. She kept her eyes down watching her own fingers move at a perfect pace. I stood there dumbfounded. The last note hung in the air for awhile before she finally looked up at me with a smirk. "Where did you learn…how did you…"

"Spent a lot of time around instruments when I was younger." She said.

"Well you're amazing." I told her.

"It's…it's sorta getting late. I should get home, you know the runts and all."

"I'll walk you down." She made it down the stair a lot quicker than I did, but she watched as I opened the door for her and just as I was raising my hand to wave goodbye to her she grabbed my hand and pulled my body against hers. My back was pressed against the door and her eyes were holding the gaze with mine. I closed my eyes, I felt her hot breath against my lips, she moved closer and closer and then nothing. A dog barked and Santana pulled back too quickly and I opened my eyes to see what was wrong.

"I'm sorry-."

"Don't be, I wanted you to-."

"No, I should go _now_." I reached out and grabbed her hand before she could turn away.

"Why? You looked into it a second ago." She looked down at the ground and shook her head. "This is the third time it's happened. Am I that repulsive-."

"No, that's not it at all!" She assured me. "You're beautiful, you're sexy, but…it's me. It's my problem not yours."

"Look I'm not asking to get together with you. Don't feel obligated or anything, but you don't have to pull away."

"Can we just…drop this? I'm late getting home." She didn't give me a chance to respond, but she kissed me on the cheek and walked down my front steps. When she got in her car she leaned out the window. "Come over my house tomorrow. If you want to I mean."

"Okay." I shouted. I still didn't understand why she kept pulling away, but maybe I'd get a chance to ask tomorrow. The one thing I knew for sure was that I didn't want to just give up on her. I liked her, in some strange way I really liked her. Maybe she was just playing games with my head, but I'd be foolish not to stick around and find out.

…..

Santana's POV

I was banging on the front door. I didn't care if I woke up Quinn's mom at this point, I just wanted to get inside. Even for someone like me, being outside at 3 am wasn't a good idea. After about five minutes of knocking like that Quinn finally opened the door to her trailer. "What took you so long?" I asked shoving past her and looking around. "Where's your mom?"

"Not here." Quinn said trying to walk back towards the _living room_. I could see that Quinn had made her way through at least 4 beers at this point.

"Are you drunk?" I asked her as she stumbled towards the couch. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Listen you fuckface I came over here for you just to find out that you're plastered?"

"I never ask you to come over." She slurred. I opened up my phone and showed her the text she'd sent me 15 minutes ago: _San, I need you_. She frowned and took my phone from me, placing it down on the counter in the kitchen. "San?" She questioned.

"What?" I questioned frustrated and seconds away from leaving.

"That's not what I meant." Her lips were against mine before I had a chance to react. She had no patience in her kisses, her tongue was rough, and her hands groped and grabbed my body harshly and unapologetically. I wasn't quick to push her away, but when I did she lifted me up and pressed my back against the wall, kissing me again. I had my hands on her shoulders, I knew if I wanted to then one good shove would do it, this would be over, but I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. She was unbuckling my belt, each time she pulled against it, I was forced closer to her.

"Quinn." I said as she started unbuttoning my pants. "Quinn stop." I said pushing her shoulders back. "Stop! Please!" This time I pushed her back harder. My feet landed on the ground and I immediately turned away from her, attempting to put my belt back on properly. My hands were shaking, and I didn't realize that I was crying until now. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I flinched and jumped back away from her.

"I-I'm sorry." I didn't understand why she looked so frightened. I should be the one in shock, but that wasn't how I felt. I didn't even know how I felt right now.

"Don't say you're sorry. Don't apologize for something that you won't even fucking remember when you wake up." I turned and faced her. My hands were gripping the counter behind me and I knew it was the only thing keeping me from punching her. "God you're so fucked up Quinn."

"I know." She said looking down at her hands. "Just…don't go. I'll…I can stay in here and you can sleep in my room." I pondered it for a second. I didn't know what was more dangerous, going out there or staying here.

"Don't be crazy, just come to bed." I took off my shoes and pants and got under the covers. Quinn kept her pajama pants on but got under the covers next to me. I didn't let her wrap her arms around me like she normally did. I know it seems messed up that I would stay, but I knew things about Quinn that no one did. I knew she was messed up and I also knew that I was the only person keeping her from losing her mind completely. What she did was wrong, but she'd been through unspeakable things and I wasn't just going to push her away, too many people have done that to her already.

"San you should've kicked my ass." Quinn said.

"It would've have been a fair fight." I said shushing her before she was able to open her mouth again. "Just shut up I don't want to talk about this. I'm too tired."

**Intense right? I know, but review and tell me what you thought of it.**


	6. No Strings Attached

**Okay so I'm going to have to explain a few things because I've been getting some hate for this story. Santana's dad is in the military, if the anonymous haters had read carefully then they would know that Santana's family has never moved around a lot. The amount of time that he's spent away is substantial, in total it would amount to a number of years. Which means that Santana grows up under the supervision of her mom, not her father. This means that she's learned mainly from her, and is just getting used to what her father wants. And if you'd just be patient you'd understand why Santana is the way she is, because she is hiding something, everyone in her family knows, Puck, and Quinn know but other people do not. It's important and it shows why her parents are lenient towards her. Furthermore, Santana is doing community service because of Quinn and Puck's mistake not hers, she never did anything wrong, so she's actually not a 'bad ass' in this story, but she does have secrets. I hope that clears some things up because people don't seem to grasp the concept of development in stories. Thank you. **

Santana's POV

"I don't get it." Puck said as he leaned against the wall behind him. I still sat comfortably on his bed, telling myself that I should get home now, but not gathering up the strength to leave. It's wasn't just mental energy, it was physical too. The last people I would ever tell were my parents, but it was only a matter of time before Puck or Quinn would notice. "Yesterday we were all cool and today suddenly you two barley even spoke to one another." Of course, he noticed, Puck was actually pretty intelligent when it came to people.

"I'm just tired." I lied trying to stand up, but sitting back down rather quickly.

"Tired like…is the community service too much for you…I mean-."

"Don't be ridiculous, it's not that bad. So when's Quinn showing up?" I only asked to make sure that I would be out of here in time. I didn't want to have to deal with her again. "My parents are going to some marine dinner thing so I have to babysit." This time I was able to stand up easily. I walked over to look out the window to check to see if I could spot Quinn. I couldn't. "I'm leaving."

"What's the rush?" Puck and I both turned towards the door and there Quinn was. Her quiet demeanor had reappeared and the slight cheer in her eyes let me know that my suspicions were correct. She didn't remember what happened last night. "I thought maybe we could all go out for a movie or something." The fact that she sounded genuinely happy about the whole idea made me wish that I wasn't so angry with her. I liked making her feel happy. I enjoyed spending time with her. When she was like this, sober and kind.

"You two go; I'm not up for it. I'll see you guys later." I tried to get out of there quickly and it was almost like I was home free until I made it down the front steps and I heard footsteps behind me.

"Wait San!" As soon as I felt Quinn's fingers on my shoulder I pulled away. "San…what's wrong?"

"You don't remember?" I snapped at her. She stopped, stood there, and her eyebrows furrowed. It was only now that I wished I was in an enclosed space. Puck's neighbors were out, just hanging around the porch, with their radio blaring.

"Remember what?" Quinn questioned. "What are you talking about? Did I do something? San?" She could be so damn frustrating sometimes. So fucked up beyond belief. I wanted to hit her, but I knew if I broke her face in two then it would be for nothing because she has no idea what happened. How do I explain this to her?

"You were drunk off you fucking ass last night you unbelievable prick!" I'd raised my voice, to a level that I wasn't comfortable with. I walked across the street and Quinn still followed, her eyes flaring with curiosity.

"Just tell me what I did." I didn't want to tell her, I didn't actually care about the whole thing anymore. It was just that she had blocks in her memory, and this wasn't the first time that this had happened. "San…you look tired are you…I'll walk you home." I didn't respond. I just let her walk beside me. She'd just figure everything out another day, I didn't want to deal with her.

"Tomorrow?" I said as I arrived at my door.

"Did I hurt you?" Quinn asked, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked afraid of the answer, but my eyes must have said it all.

"Hasta luego yeah?" I opened my front door and went inside. Selena was on the couch reading from a magazine as Lela was playing with her Barbie dolls. I scanned the room to see if I could spot Rey, but he was nowhere in sight. "Where's my favorite little sibling?" I questioned as I took off my shoes.

"Right here!" Lela exclaimed holding her arms out wide.

"No not you." I said causing her smile to fade and a Barbie to come flying right at my head. I ducked and plopped down on the couch next to Selena. "You can jet if you want, I've got things under control." She checked her watch and shook her head.

"Why are you in a rush to get me to leave?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing like that, jeez, I was just trying to give you a break." I said innocently. "Where's Rey?" I asked.

"Taking a nap. He wanted to stay up late with you tonight or something ridiculously cute like that." She kept smiling until the doorbell rang. Lela ran upstairs, presumable to grab more toys and I looked over my shoulder at the door. Selena glared at me, and then I face palmed. I completely forgot that I invited Rachel over today. "_Mentirosa_." She muttered as she got up and headed for the door. I tried to look past her and check on Rachel, but I could see from where I was sitting. "Hey _prima_ I'm calling later to check in. _No hagas nada estúpido_." She was smirking at this point and I couldn't tell if she was being playful or serious.

"What does that mean?" I asked standing up. I walked over towards the door where I finally spotted Rachel. "You gonna let the girl in?" Selena took a step back and Rachel walked past. Today she was wearing a purple summer dress with a yellow flower pattern on it. It was beyond cute and I would've told her if Selena wasn't right there.

"You know what I mean." Selena said with a stern look. "You know Lela likes to talk and I'll find out." I rolled my eyes and hoped she'd leave before Rachel got too uncomfortable. "But to answer your unasked question, she's cute." I looked down at the ground and tried to will my body from reacting this way. My face heated up involuntarily and I bit my lip to keep from saying something embarrassing. "Bye." She kissed each of my cheeks and waved goodbye to Rachel. Once I'd closed the door, I turned to Rachel and smiled.

"So she's your cousin." Rachel said with a smile. "Where are-?"

"We have a guest? Yes!" Lela said as she descended the stairs. She was holding an armful of toys, half of which fell out of her hands when she spotted Rachel. "It's Rachel! I thought you said she wasn't your friend San? You're such a chump." Lela grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her towards the couch. "Check out my toys, aren't they cool?" Rachel sat on the ground by Lela and grabbed a doll to play with.

"I'm gonna go wake Rey." I walked upstairs and went into their room. Rey was tucked under the covers. I pulled the covers back slowly and lifted him up. "Hey Rey Rey, wake up." I whispered. His eyes slowly fluttered open and a smile crept onto his face.

"Sanni, is someone downstairs?" He asked wiping his eyes.

"Yeah, Rachel is. Remember her? I'm sure she wants to see you." I carried him downstairs. Rachel looked up and smiled when she saw him. Rey buried his face in the crook of my neck, his shyness was overtaking him again.

"Hi there." Rachel said standing up and slowly walking over. "He's so cute." She said with a little giggle.

"Grow a pair Rey." I joked. "Come on." I sat him down on the couch. "You guys play nice." I took Rachel's hand and began heading upstairs to my room.

"Whoa, whoa…whoa." Lela said standing up dramatically. "Where are you going? You can't leave us unsupervised." She was such a brat sometimes.

"Lela, please, can you let me live my life just this once?"

"Nope." Lela said with a grin.

"How about this…I need to talk to Rachel for a few minutes." I started.

"About what?" Lela was beyond a doubt the most frustrating child on the planet.

"About none of your business, that's what about. Give me ten minutes." This time when I began pulling Rachel upstairs behind me Lela didn't object. Rachel followed happily, almost as if she was waiting for me to do this. I opened my door and turned on my light. Rachel didn't bother looking around that much, there was nothing to look at, but when she walked over and sat down on my bed I got the sudden urge to kiss her. I've gotten the urge before, but right now I just wanted to lay her flat on my bed and use my tongue in a million different ways on that body of hers.

"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asked crossing her legs and biting her bottom lip. Her tongue moved slowly across the spot she'd just bit down on. I watched attentively, she had me hooked. Did she know how badly I wanted her? Is that why the dress was low cut and short?

"A lot." I whispered. I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist. "I owe you an explanation." I started.

"For what?" She questioned.

"For how I've been acting. Hot and cold I guess." I said. Suddenly I felt uncomfortable, and I stood up and began pacing slowly. "I like you."

"That's a good sign." Rachel said with a smile.

"But I was in this relationship, it ended…poorly. I'm not really ready for-."

"I'm not asking for anything. I just…I'm very attracted to you." Rachel said bluntly. "We can just hang out, no strings attached." _No strings attached_ always sounded good, but it never ends up that way. I know that for a fact. Rachel was sweet though, and accommodating which made me feel like I might actually be able to trust her. Maybe she could end up being my new Quinn. I heard a knock on the door, and because it was a gentle knock I assumed right away that it was Rey.

"Come in." I said. He walked in with his eyes covered and stood in the doorway holding an inhaler. "You can open your eyes pipsqueak." I told him. He rushed over towards me and held the inhaler up towards me. "What's wrong? Do you need it?"

"No, but I thought you did." I didn't realize it was my inhaler until now. I took it from him and used it for myself. It didn't actually make me feel better, but I brightened up so that Rey would think I did. "Hi Rachel." Rey said bashfully. He was standing closer to me, but I could see him glancing over occasionally at Rachel. He was curious.

"Did you know that Rachel is a singer? Isn't that cool Rey?"

"You are?" Rey said opening his eyes wider. I heard frantic footsteps come charging up the stairs. Seconds later Lela was running into my room with her hand covering her eyes.

"Is everyone fully clothed?" I had to glare at Rachel to keep her from laughing, but when I answered with an annoyed yes, Lela clapped her hands together and stood in front of us proudly. "Breaking news, mama says they won't be back till late and we can have ice cream sundaes." I squinted my eyes at Lela and smiled.

"You're not even a good liar." I told her.

"Maybe not, but I'm so down for ice cream." Lela grabbed Rachel's hand and started tugging her downstairs. I followed with Rey at my side. By the time we made it to the kitchen, there were already three different kinds of ice cream out and bowls of sprinkles, chocolate chips, and oreos were also out. I grabbed the ice cream cones from the cupboard and ice cream scoopers handing one to Lela as well. She always insisted on getting first dibs on everything and now was no exception.

I was next in line, but I was making Rey's ice cream cone. He was a vanilla kind of guy, with minimal sprinkles, but heavy on the fudge and oreos. Once I was done with his I handed it to him and he grinned from ear to ear. "Okay munchkins, you can eat on the couch as long as you promise to keep everything clean."

"Ma'am yes ma'am." Lela said in a mock tone before exiting the kitchen and taking Rey along with her.

"Don't just stand there, you like ice cream right."

"I was waiting for you to go first." She said leaning against the counter. "I want whatever you want." She said in a flirty tone.

"Alright." I took the cone out of her hand and spun her around so that her back was to my front. "First, one scoop of strawberry and then one of chocolate." I put my hands over Rachel's as she scooped the ice cream into the cone. "Next, layer on the fudge."

"This is a lot of fudge." Rachel said as she reached for a spoon so she could put on chocolate chips and oreos. I grabbed the spoon for her and scooped up the delicious toppings for her. Once the task of creating the treat had been completed, Rachel held it in her hand and looked over her shoulder at me. "Wanna taste?" She held the ice cream cone up to my mouth and just as I was about to open my mouth Rachel pushed the cone up further so that the ice cream collided with my nose. I pulled back quickly and began laughing along with Rachel.

"What was that for?" I said. When I went to wipe my nose, Rachel grabbed my hand. "Hey…" Rachel's hands wrapped around my neck and she stood on her tiptoes, kissing the ice cream off the tip of my nose.

"Sorry." She said blushing. I grabbed the cone from her and tasted the ice cream myself.

"Yum." I said with a grin. "I'm a culinary genius." Rachel snatched the ice cream cone back and I trapped her between my arms on both sides of her body. "No strings attached right?" I questioned.

"None." She whispered back, looking up at me through thick eyelashes. I grabbed her hips and pressed her body against mine, kissing her softly on the lips. The kiss last only a few seconds, but it was enough to know that Rachel was going to be staying around for a while.

"Okay first off ew." I turned around to see Lela there holding Rey's teddy bear. "And secondly Rey's either asleep or dead so you should probably check on that."

"You wanna stay for a bit longer?" I asked Rachel.

"I'd love to."

Rachel's POV

"It's fate worse than death Kurt, she's so hot." Kurt rolled his eyes for the third time since we'd been walking back to his car. I couldn't help it though, last night was perfect. I had a ton of fun with Santana, Rey, and Lela. After Santana and I kissed I couldn't stop thinking about getting her alone again, I liked the way she just grabbed me, like she was going to have her way with me. I thought it was actually sort of hot, and I was bothered by the fact that the kiss was sweet and she didn't just kiss the hell out of me. Lord knows I wanted to do that to her.

"Are you going to see her tonight?" Kurt questioned as he unlocked his car doors.

"I wish, but she said that she was busy with something."

"Sounds suspicious." Kurt said with a shrug.

"Maybe I'd think that if I was a drama queen like you." My phone started buzzing and I looked at the caller I.D. Brittany was calling and I immediately answered. "Hello." I got into the passenger's seat and Kurt looked over at me before he started driving back to his house.

"Hey Rach! I actually have a question for you." I waited for her to continue. "I'm meeting your friend Santana later, and I was wondering what do I wear? She didn't really say where we were going or what we are gonna do so I'm at a loss. I don't even know how she got my number." I felt like there was no air in my lungs. Hyperventilating was a sure possibility at this point.

"S-she asked you out?"

"I guess, I don't know, she's picking me up in thirty minutes or so…could I wear jean shorts and a tank? Oh I have a shirt with a bunny on it, that'd be cute, right?"

"Yeah, go with that…I really should go now though, bye Brittany." I hung up the phone before she could even say 'bye' back. I was in shock. Kurt was too focused on the road to even notice the look of dismay on my face. How could Santana do this? I know we agree on the no strings attached thing, but God, she really moves fast. And with my friend no less. I was insulted and enraged.

I thought that kiss meant something.

"Pizza and a movie?" Kurt asked. _We'd better stop for tissues too_, I thought.

"Yeah…let's go."

**Review. Review. Review.**

**Did everyone watch the new Glee episode? I don't want to spoil anything, except that Marley Rose is the cutest thing on the damn planet. I'm definitely putting her in my next story for sure. I might even do a Quarly(?), Quinn and Marley story or a Santarly(?) Santana and Marley story. Sorry I'm getting sidetracked, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.**


	7. Bad Blood

**I tried to update as soon as I could. I hope this was soon enough. Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

I walked into the store, grabbing a bag of chips and a pack of gum, expecting Rachel to be waiting at the counter for me. Things were tense with Quinn, which meant the tension spilled over to Puck, and I don't think I could deal with putting him in the middle of this. I told them I had to take care of something, and they both got the hint and left. I was hoping to spend sometime with Rachel. I'd driven again today, I think my parents were feeling lenient, but I suspected that Rey had mentioned something about the way I looked last night too.

It didn't matter because Kurt was standing at the front counter, looking through a magazine and ignoring me even though I know he knew I was here. I waited for a solid two minutes before I slammed my hand down on the bell and Kurt flinched and faced me. "What do you want?" I knew he didn't like me, but now he was just acting outright cold. What had suddenly changed?

"To buy something, tends to be what stores are for." I muttered the last part and placed the items on the counter. He rang them up, as I looked around, wondering if Rachel's dad was even here. I mean the guy owned the place, why had I never seen him? I paid and Kurt tossed my things into a small bag before returning back to his magazine. I rolled my eyes and frown. "Hey, where's Rachel?" I asked.

"You're something else, you really are." Kurt said glaring at me.

"What the hell does that mean?" I questioned. My hands were gripping the counter and I could feel my heart beat pick up.

"Playing dumb too, nice side effect." Okay, now I was just confused. What was he even talking about? "Stay away from Rachel; you've already hurt her enough." What was this about? Was it because we kissed? I thought that was what she wanted; I was the reluctant one in the whole thing. If this was such a big deal, then why didn't she just call me or something?

"If you have a problem with me then we can talk about it, but I'm a little more concerned about Rachel than you. Just tell me where she is-."

"You can say all you want, but you weren't the one comforting her last night. Why would you do that to her? She was actually starting to care about you." I can safely say that I've never been this confused in my entire life. I took a step back and looked out towards my car. I clearly wasn't going to get answers here, so I thought that I should just go.

"I care about her." I said before I turned around and exited the store. I got into my car and exhaled. "Calm the fuck down." I told myself as I put the keys into the ignition and started the car. I was looking for Rachel and if she wasn't at the store then there was only one other place worth looking.

…

I didn't like doorbells. I didn't even like knocking. Normally doors on my street are wide open and people just go around hanging out. Banging on Rachel's front door probably wasn't the proper way to approach her, but I needed some answers and I needed them now.

When the door flung open I opened my mouth. Like I said, I was seeking answers, but what did I get? A hard and quick slap across my face. It was so unexpected that the stinging almost made my eyes water. I held my face but when she tried to slam her door shut I stopped it with my shoe. Once I regained feeling in my face, I grabbed her wrists and forced her back so that I could walk in. I pressed her back against the wall and watched as she squirmed to get away from me.

"What the hell is your problem?" I yelled.

"My problem? Be thankful that you still have my hands in your grips otherwise you'd have a few more problems, namely my right and left fists." She shouted back. "I can't believe you showed up here, you're damn ballsy."

"Okay I keep getting the run around so what I'm going to need is an explanation of what I did that was so awful." I said holding onto her tighter.

"Did you have a good time?" Rachel questioned bitterly.

"Did I have a good time? What does that mean?" I asked still confused.

"On your date? Last night." I pondered on what she was saying. I actually stood there holding onto her wrists and thinking, just like that, and then it hit me. I let go of her and started laughing, hysterically, I couldn't hold back not even a little bit. "You think this is funny?"

"It isn't funny." I said seriously. "It's fucking hilarious." I reiterated. I could see that she was upset, and I reached out and touched her forearm. "You think that I went on a date with Brittany last night?"

"Well didn't you?" Rachel asked looking me in the eyes.

"I got her contact information at your dance studio. I called her up and asked her if she could help out with something-."

"So that's what we're calling it these days." Rachel tried to walk away but I grabbed her arm.

"Lela does ballet but she hates it. I thought maybe she could try hip-hop. We don't have the money to pay for classes so I asked if Brittany could at least introduce her to the style to see if she would like it." I started smiling at this point. "It wasn't a date, why would you even think it was?"

"You saw her, she's a pretty girl." Rachel said with a defeated shrug.

"Why would I go around looking for a pretty girl, when I've got one standing right in front of me?" Rachel's cheeks warmed up and I looked down at the ground realizing that I sounded so cheesy right then. I wondered if she noticed, but she was too busy trying not to look flustered. "I'm sorry about the mix up, but I kissed you for a reason."

"Gosh I'm so stupid." Rachel said closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Yeah you are." Rachel smacked my shoulder and I laughed. "Can't believe you think I'm a slut." I muttered causing Rachel to smack me again on the shoulder, only harder this time.

"It's just with the whole no strings attached thing…" I nodded in understanding.

"There are strings attached." I assured her. "I wouldn't have come all the way over here for nothing." I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked towards the kitchen when I heard a pan clanking. "Wait, who's in there?" I questioned.

"My dad." Rachel said innocently.

"Wait, he's been in there the whole time? Did he hear us?" I don't know why I even asked, because of fucking course he heard us. The man isn't deaf. I took a step back and tried to peer into the room. I spotted his face and I immediately moved away from his line of sight.

"He doesn't care, he knows that I have a personal life."

"Yeah but it's rude not to introduce myself to him and I'm pretty sure I'm not ready for that." I said cautiously.

"Are you nervous?" Rachel asked taking my hand.

"Maybe…" Rachel bit her lip and smirked. "What?"

"You're just cute." She leaned in and gave me a quick, and might I add, unexpected peck on the lips. "Let's get out of here."

"Where are we going?" I questioned following her out of her house.

"You are gonna show me a good time."

…

Rachel's POV

Santana was taking me to a party. No, she called it a _previa_. I didn't know what that meant or what we'd be doing but when we arrived at this boys house, there was no music, just a lot of kids hanging around inside, but also a group hanging out back. Santana held my hand and led me through the crowd. Once we were outside I could see a table filled with liquor and glasses waiting to be filled. "Drink?" Santana asked. She was already pouring me something in a glass, orange juice, I thought, followed by a decent amount of vodka. She handed it to me before making her own drink.

I sipped on my drink watching attentively as Santana grabbed my hand and looked around for somewhere to sit. "Hey Rachel, what's up girl?" Puck walked in with Quinn at his side and then he spotted the drinks and basically ran for it. Quinn was slower to follow, I could tell that something was up with her and Santana, but I didn't ask what.

Santana sat down and I was about to sit down in the chair next to her, but Quinn had already taken the chair. "Here." Santana was about to stand and offer me her seat but I pushed her back down.

"No it's okay." I said before sitting down on her lap. I could feel her suck in her breath and one of her hands slowly wrap around my waist. "Is this fine?" I asked her.

"There's a spot right here sweetheart." I looked over at Quinn and frowned. I thought the role of horndog was supposed to be Puck, but he was over talking to a few guys. I felt Santana's arm tighten around me.

"What did you just say to her?" Santana said. I could feel the anger in her voice, but Quinn looked relatively unfazed by it. She was on her second drink by now, she was pretty tiny, smaller than Santana, maybe she was a lightweight.

"You heard me." Quinn said taking a shot of tequila down easily. Santana held up her middle finger to Quinn and tapped my thigh. I turned from where I was sitting and she was looking up at me.

"The actual party is down the street, wanna head out?" Santana asked. I nodded sensing the tension building between her and Quinn. I stood up, and Santana grabbed my hand again, which made me feel really safe, and we walked through the gates and walked towards the sidewalk.

"Is something going on with you two?"

"Falling out I guess." Santana said shrugging like she wanted to avoid the top all together. "Did you want to drink more? There'll be booze at the party, but we usually got to someone's place before."

"We'll see I guess." I said squeezing her hand gently. When we started walking up the porch steps, I could already feel the bass blaring. Since Santana and I were actually here together this time, I wanted to dance right away.

I pulled Santana towards the dance floor and she hesitated for a second. "You sure?" She mouthed raising an eyebrow. I didn't understand why until she took another step forward and stumbled a little bit. I know for a fact that she only had one drink, but maybe she got some really strong stuff.

I laughed and spun around, beginning to dance circles around her while she waited patiently for me to move closer to her body. I think she knew that I'd let her touch me wherever she wanted, but she never did. Her hands were on my hips, but she never pushed them under my shirt, or further down.

"Hey do people care if you dance with me like this?" I questioned, wondering if homosexuality was a big thing in her community. Over in Lima it was just taboo. Something people brushed under their rugs, but I was proud to be who I am, open to everything, but maybe Santana wasn't. I mean anyone could dance like this when everyone else was drunk, but why had she never invited me over when her parents were home? Why hadn't I?

I think we had a lot more to figure out than I originally thought, but right now none of that mattered. What mattered was that Santana had just whispered something in my ear, and her teeth grazed the bottom of my earlobe. I had no freaking idea what she said, but I knew that I felt a shiver down my spin.

"What?" I turned to ask her, but then suddenly the music was turned down. There was still plenty of chatter going on around us, but Santana grabbed my hand pulled me over towards a couch, where Puck and Quinn were seated. I looked towards the door, because that seemed to be where everyone was looking, and a group of boys walked in. Or should I say men? They all seemed to be at least in their twenties and everyone's eyes were fixed on them. I wondered if they weren't invited or they were a group of outcasts or something. "Who are they?" I whispered to Santana. She quickly pulled me behind her and she kept her eyes focus on the men.

"Hey, why'd you stop the music, keep the party pumpin." For some reason even I could tell that the guys wanted this kind of intimidation. They wanted all eyes on them, but I didn't know why.

"This is a private party; go find your own place to hang out." I recognized the kid who said it as Nacho, the boy who hosted the other party I attended. He stood in front of the leader of the other group of guys. I took the time, now, to count and see how many their actually were. Twelve in total, and it seemed like there was one clear leader, and mixed in the bunch there was a girl too. The leader had a shaved head and tattoos all over his neck. They were tough guys, they were the type of people you'd never want to be stuck in an alley with.

"Oh yeah, what's it to you _boy_?" I could feel the tension rising in the air. Santana took a step back as the guys approached. She held onto me, shielding me almost completely. "Hey, where's your girl Chloe?"

"She's not even here." The girl spoke up but I could tell she looked nervous. Something about the way she was looking around, not looking at one thing or one person for more than a few seconds. That was until she looked directly at Santana, and she froze.

"Oh hey wassup?" I didn't like the way that guy was looking at Santana. His stupid minions followed him until they were standing in front of Santana and I. "You ain't gonna say hi to me girl?"

"I've got nothing to say to you." Santana said coldly.

"What's this? Bad blood between us? How do we fix this?" He asked.

"Fuck off." She was about to take a step forward but I held her back. I didn't want her to get into a fight, especially against a group that large.

"You're so tough now, with your punk kids backing you up. Wait until we get in an alley, wait until nobody can here you scream, then we'll fucking see who's tough." Truthfully, I was afraid. It's not as if I could protect Santana, but right now she looked like she wasn't even worried about her own safety.

"I'll be waiting." Santana said boldly.

"You've made a powerful enemy _puta_." He said with a dirty smirk.

"_Vete al infierno_." Santana said pushing him away with her left hand. He fell backwards, just enough to crash into the two guys behind him. Luckily he didn't retaliate, but walking past them with Santana being sure to stare them down as we left, that was terrifying.

Santana threw open the door, in a fit almost, I heard footsteps behind us and I turned to see Puck jogging behind. "Hey, San!"

"What?" Santana snapped.

"Are you fucking insane? You think you can just fuck around with those guys? He meant it Santana; he fucking meant what he said. You don't want an enemy like that." Puck warned.

"Yeah well I can take care of myself." Santana said letting go of my hand and crossing her arms over her chest.

"The problem is you can't. If you don't want to admit it then fine, but I know what happens to you, I know how shit goes down. So I don't know if you were puling that shit to impress your girl here or out of spite." Puck looked about as angry as Santana did, and I felt like if I even said one word then they'd both tell me to shut up. I was thinking that maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I didn't belong out here. I don't know the rules, I don't know the language. I've felt like an outsider for most of my life, so why continue here?

But I knew why. And the reason was standing right next to me. "Fine." Santana said. "Puck give me a second." Puck nodded and went back inside. Santana looked at me for a moment before looking at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I questioned. Sure I was in an awkward position, but that wasn't her fault. She has nothing to apologize for.

"I've got a Napoleon complex." She said shaking her head. "I think I'm tough and everything, but…I need to be more careful."

"Well you standing up to that guy…sexy." I said with a smile.

"Really?" Santana asked almost hopefully. We had started walking towards her car, this time she wasn't holding my hand. I didn't mind because at least she seemed to have calmed down a little bit.

"Of course." I said smiling.

"Wish we could've danced some more." Santana said once we arrive at her car.

"Wait…you're drunk. You can't take me home." She stood in front of me and smiled.

"Would a drunk person do this?" She lifted me up and wrapped my legs around her waist. My back was against her car and her lips were against mine. There was this passion in this kiss that I didn't feel before. Her tongue was in my mouth, I could feel her hands going down further towards my-.

"Santana!" I said pressing my hands against her shoulders.

"Stay at my place tonight." I quirked an eyebrow at the request.

"I'll take the couch downstairs, you take my bed. I can't drive you back and it's too late for your dads to be driving out here." I nodded understanding her logic behind her request. "So that's a yes right?"

"Yes it's a yes."

**Review.**


	8. Peligro Rojo

**I'm not sure when you all will learn more about Chloe, but you will soon hopefully. As always thanks for the reviews, you guys are amazing. Enjoy.**

Rachel's POV

"Mom, I told you that everything is-…okay will you seriously calm down…oh my god, no I was downstairs the whole night…Jesus, you can meet her…can I have some space, let me wake her up." Santana's bedroom door opened and closed. I was cuddled up facing away from her. I could feel the bed dip a little bit as she climbed into the bed next to me. "Rachel." She whispered into my ear. I felt my body shudder slightly especially when she leaned over my body and looked down at me.

I fluttered my eyes open as if I'd just woken up and I smiled. "Hey." I said quietly.

"Hey." Santana replied before sitting up and smiling. "I…my mom is downstairs bitching about how I had company over without saying anything. So if you don't mind…she wants to meet you." Santana looked nervous now, and that made my heart grow in size. She was so cute.

"Yeah can I uh…should I shower first?" I asked. I didn't know if Santana's mom would like me or not, so I should at least look presentable.

"No, God no, my mom just wants to make sure you're not a lunatic or something. She has to leave in a few minutes anyway. Just come down for a quick hello." Santana said grabbing my hand and pulling me up to my feet. I was still in the pajama pants and tank top that Santana let me wear last night. I felt very comfortable but then suddenly very self-conscious.

"I look a mess." I said pulling Santana back so that she wouldn't open her bedroom door.

"I'm wearing sweatpants and a hoodie." Santana said with a laugh. "Come on, don't be nervous, especially if you don't want her to embarrass you, because trust me she will." I sighed and let Santana take me downstairs and into the kitchen. I didn't realize I'd have a crowd of Rey and Lela but I guess that would be expected. The one bright spot was that Santana's father wasn't there, at least I didn't have to meet both parents.

"_Mama te presento a _Rachel-."

"Hi, honey, it's so nice to meet you. A lot of people call me Rosa, it's my middle name in case you were curious. Are you hungry? I can make you breakfast." I was so shocked by her hostility that I didn't even know how to answer.

"Mom, I'll cook something for her. I thought you had work." Santana was clearly trying to get rid of her mom as soon as possible. I exchanged a smirk with Lela before I turned back towards Santana's mom.

"Santana, _ella es tan linda_." I looked at Santana wondering if her mom was actually talking to me or not. I could really use a translator right now. "_Mira sus labios, ella es caucasico?_" Santana crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her mom.

"I think it's time for you to go, _mama por favor_." Santana grabbed a box of cereal from the top cupboard and turned to face her mom again. "Rachel are you a serial killer?"

"W-wh—huh?"

"Do you plan on stabbing me in the middle of the night? Are you a prostitute, or will you break my heart into a million pieces and stomp on it over and over again?" Santana asked as if this was an everyday sort of conversation.

"No, of course not." I told her honestly.

"See, mom, nothing to worry about." Santana said. "Now, go to work and have a great day." I smiled when Santana's mother came over and hugged Santana before kissing each of her other two children on the forehead.

"Have a nice day; I hope you see you around again Rachel." I waved goodbye and waited until she left and her car backed out of the driveway.

"You can breathe now." Santana joked. "Tell me you like Lucky Charms." She said handing me a bowl of the cereal. I held the bowl while she poured milk for the both of us. I walked over and sat down in between Rey and Lela while Santana stood and ate.

"I love Lucky Charms." I said after I took the first spoonful into my mouth.

"Why did you sleep on the couch Sanni?" Rey asked.

"Because Rachel was sleeping on my bed." Santana replied. Lela spun around in her seat and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why do you get to have sleepovers? You didn't even ask mom before you had someone over. I swear this is like a monarchy or something." Lela said as she jumped down from her chair. "You are so lucky dad doesn't know."

"He wouldn't care, stop being a brat." Santana finished her bowl of cereal and put her bowl in the dishwasher. "I'm gonna go shower, Rachel, are you gonna be alright down here? Lela can be brutal sometimes-."

"Hey!" Lela interjected.

"Hey yourself." Santana said with a smirk. "I'll be back, _cuida tu boca_." Santana said to Lela in a warning voice.

"_Cuida_ your own _boca_." Lela said glaring at Santana until she went back upstairs. I watched her go. How on earth did she look so amazing in sweatpants? I debated following her upstairs. I mean what if I just happened to be there when she got out of the shower? That wouldn't be too crazy, right?

"Did you go to a party last night?" Lela asked with curious eyes.

"Yeah, we didn't stay very long though…some guys showed up; they sort of got in Santana's face." I said with a wave of my hand. I don't think Lela or Rey should be hearing about this.

"Oh." Lela said frowning. "Like a _banda_?" She questioned. "Sorry…I mean-."

"_Peligro rojo_." Rey said before jumped down from his seat. He put his bowl in the dishwasher just like Santana had a few minutes ago. I'd never seen the young boy look as upset as he did now.

"Rey, it's not the same." Lela assured him. I could tell for some reason that Rey didn't believe his sister. He rushed upstairs and I thought about following him to see what was wrong. "He's just so sensitive, I wonder if he's a girl sometimes."

"What does um…that peligro…what did he said? What does that mean?" I asked her.

"Red menace." Lela said. "Like…blood. It's this gang. They like…it used to be much worse around here, now it's calmed down I guess."

"So Santana stood up to a gang…great." I muttered.

"No one ever said she was the bright one in this family. I think she's an awful influence." Lela said nonchalantly. I smiled knowing that Lela was the sort of sister who always gave Santana crap for everything, but really she looked up to her. "Speak of the devil."

"What'd you say about me pipsqueak?" Santana asked as she dried her hair with a towel.

"I said you're a wonderful person." Lela lied.

"Why is Rey upstairs? What'd you say Lela?" Lela shrugged her shoulders and handed Santana her bowl. "What am I your maid?" Santana said placing the bowl down on the counter.

"What are we doing today San?"

"I have to take Rachel back home. You guys can go over to Selena's while I'm gone." Santana said.

"Can we go over to Puck's house?" Lela asked hopefully.

"Sure, whatever just get Rey and I'll take you over." Lela practically tripped over herself as she ran upstairs to grab her younger brother. "She's so needy." Santana joked tossing the towel at me. I blatantly missed it and Santana laughed. "So you called your parents right? I can't afford to make a bad impression before I even meet them."

"I texted them last night, and they said everything was fine. They're a little more lenient during the summer. How'd you sleep?" I asked.

"Eh…alright. You? Was my bed comfortable enough?" She asked.

"It was missing something though." I said as I leaned against the counter.

"What?" She questioned.

"You."

Santana's POV

"Quinn, again with the texts? Jesus, I thought something was wrong." I said as she opened up her bedroom door. I walked inside and Quinn grabbed my arm. For a second I thought she was going to try something, touch me like she did earlier, but then I saw that she wasn't drunk she was just scared.

"My mom's gone; she's been gone all night. What do you think she's doing?" Quinn asked gripping my arm tighter. I wanted to ask her what was her problem, but I didn't. Quinn was sensitive, especially at night when bad things happened.

"Q, I think it's pretty self explanatory." I told her with a shrug. "Do you…you can stay over my house if you want. My dad doesn't want me out at night and Rey will be worried." I knew I needed to be there in case Rey had a nightmare in the middle of the night.

"Why were you pissed at me before? Why won't you tell me what I did?" Quinn asked suddenly.

"N-nothing, it's nothing." I lied.

"It means something to me. If I don't have your trust then I have nothing. Look I know what I…I know what I did. I remembered when we were at community service today." Quinn said looking down at her feet. "Why didn't you just punch me or something?"

"I didn't want to hurt you." I told her truthfully.

"So you let me hurt you?!" I couldn't imagine a reason for her to be upset about this. I said we could just forget about it, and I meant it. "It's kill or be killed. Why do you always let everyone win-."

"Because I can't fight-."

"I know." Quinn said cutting me off. "I don't know how to make it right, but I'm sorry. I know it doesn't count for much of anything, but I am." I thought about hugging her, I thought about trying to make her understand that it was okay, but instead I just stood there staring at her. "At the party the other night-."

"Let's not talk about it." I said tossing Quinn her shoes.

"They meant it you know. You really pissed them off, and they don't care about you and Chloe." It wasn't like Quinn was telling me things I didn't already know. I know I made a mistake, and I know I'd end up paying for it.

"Chloe doesn't care about me and Chloe." I quipped back.

"She does, and you know it." Quinn said as she pulled on her shoes. "You sure you wanna go back to your house. It's late and…you have your knife right?"

"No, I don't need it. What am I gonna do stab someone?"

"If you need to. How else are you going to protect yourself?" I hated when everyone talked to me like I was helpless. I wasn't. "You dad gave Puck and I a crash course when we were like 4, so we know-."

"Okay, I get it, I'm helpless. Let's just get out of here; your place always makes me feel weird." Quinn rolled her eyes and opened her bedroom door. We walked outside seconds later and I followed Quinn out towards the sidewalk.

"Check out that car." Quinn said walking over to the other side of me. She kept her eyes on the car but I kept my eyes down. If it was one of Antonio's guys then I didn't want to be seen. "If it comes closer, go into that house-."

"No." I said grabbing Quinn's arm and tugging her along.

"Why are you so goddamn stubborn?" Quinn questioned. The only thing I could do was smile. "How'd your sleep over with Rachel go? Was there much sleeping?" I nudged Quinn's shoulder and she laughed.

"I slept on the couch; it's not like that with her." I said.

"What does that mean?" Quinn questioned.

"It means we're taking things way slow." I explained.

"Why? She wants you so bad." Quinn could be annoying sometimes when it came to girls. She was about sex, and I certainly wasn't. Most of the time I just liked messing around, but when things were serious, I needed to take things slow. "Tap that before I do." I pushed Quinn even though I knew she was just trying to get a rise out of me.

"You're such a prick. Do you want to come to Lima with me tomorrow? Rey and Lela are having a dance lesson, and we're gonna go out to eat after." I offered.

"Yeah sure-."

"Hey ladies, wassup gringa." The car that Quinn was watching before pulled up beside us. I grabbed Quinn's hand, making her continue walking. We were only a few houses away from my house and I wanted to get home quickly.

"Leave her alone." I warned the guy in the car. I didn't recognize him, but he looked like a member of Peligro Rojo. "Don't you guys have like a sleepover or something to get to? That's what gangs do right?" Quinn snickered but the guy didn't look like he appreciated.

"Whatever, just stay away from Chloe." The guy warned. He sped off a second later and I watched as the car went over the curb at the end of the street.

"What the hell?"

"Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks that you still want Chloe-."

"I fucking don't. I'm over her okay." Quinn raised her hands defensively.

"Yeah, yeah." Quinn said as we arrived at my house. "So…you didn't bring your inhaler either, did you?"

"No."

"Basically you have a death wish, huh?" Quinn asked. I didn't reply, but I hope that she knew she was wrong. "Man whatever. So are you making me breakfast in the morning, or what?"

**Review please.**


	9. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Sorry for the late update, I hope you enjoy. I think I should probably start writing my next 'Lost' chapter, so I'll get on that. Expect an update for that fic soon as well.**

Santana's POV

"So how are things going?" My father asked me from across the table. I knew this wasn't an interrogation, because my mom was sitting right next to me, but it still didn't make me feel much better. His eyes never left mine, and the coffee mug in his hand, stayed firmly on the table, unmoving as he waited.

"Decent." I said all too quickly. My mom immediately knew that something was wrong. Usually I had something a little longer to say, or at least something with wit. Honest and straightforward was pretty rare when it came to me.

"We mean how are things for you? If it's getting to be too much then you'd tell us right?" My mother questioned.

"I'm usually moving at a snail's pace, picking up trash. Even when I rode my bike, it was like nothing. Why? Did Rey say something?" I asked. I knew when anything came up about me; it was usually because Rey was worrying too much.

"We are just making sure. You have your doctor's appointment tomorrow. And we went to CVS to get your prescriptions yesterday." My mom explained. I put my arms on the table and leaned my head against them. I didn't car about the stupid appointment or the stupid prescription, I just wanted to go right now.

"So your mother informed me that we had a guest a few nights ago." My face reddened I could feel it, but I tried to stay calm. "What's her name?" My father asked slowly.

"Rachel and I know what you're going to ask next. She's not even from this neighborhood, so you don't have to worry." I started. "Plus she's not even…we're not like…okay you get it." I said standing up from the table and going over to get myself a cup of coffee.

"Well I'd like to meet her." My father said.

"Okay." I replied without even facing him. "Seriously what's the big deal?" I muttered.

"The big deal started with a C and ends with h-l-o-e. And you know what I mean." My father said standing up and pouring himself another cup of coffee. "Are you taking the kids to this impromptu dance lesson now?" My eyes widened, I had only told my mom about that, and how did he know?

"Mom!" I hissed at her, annoyed that she went and tattled on me. I was only trying to let Rey and Lela have fun.

"Don't complain to her, I practically had to beg. Now I am perfectly okay with these lessons. I just want to make sure that you'll be there with them." My father said. I nodded and controlled my eye roll. I clapped my hands loud enough so that Rey and Lela would hear, and they came running down the stairs a few moments later. Rey was in shorts and a t-shirt, while Lela wore tights, and a t-shirt. I grabbed my keys and I was about to usher them into the car when I saw something on Rey's face.

"Rey, what the hell is on your face?" I said.

"Language Santana." My mother warned before she stood and walked over to Rey. She picked him up and laughed. "Did Lela put lipstick on you?"

"Lela you are such a little brat." I tried to chase after her outside but I stopped when I saw Puck walking over towards my house. Lela immediately ran and jumped into his arms before I could catch up to her.

"Hey little mama, are you running for mean old Santana?" Puck asked in a playful voice.

"She put lipstick on Rey." I explained.

"Oh…how's my little man's manhood holding up?" Puck questioned as he placed Lela back down on the ground.

"He should be out in a second. Why are you over here?" I asked.

"I was going to talk to you about Quinn…" Puck said before looking down at Lela. I unlocked the car door and practically had to force Lela inside before I returned to the conversation with Puck. "Don't you think she's been acting kind of weird?"

"It's probably because her mom is dating someone again." I informed him.

"San, it's been over a year-." I raised my hand to cut him off, because Rey was running outside to me. "Hey Rey." Puck said smiling and rubbing Rey's head.

"We've gotta go, or we'll be late. Rey get in your car seat, have Lela help you." He did as he was told, he always did. Once I heard the car door open and close I returned my attention to Puck once again. "Have you heard anything? Like around you know?"

"Just be careful. You know those guys; they'll just try and scare you." Puck assured me. "Chloe won't let them hurt you."

"I'm not really gonna rely on her for anything-."

"Oh come on. Don't say that." Puck urged me. "Chloe wasn't just some chick, you guys dated for three years-."

"I don't need a trip down memory lane. Let's just…I'll come over later or something." I said before walking over to the other side of my car and opened the door. Puck waved goodbye to us, and I drove off towards the dance studio.

"Sanni, do you want to dance with us today?" Rey asked. I knew he always thought that I was invincible, Lela knew a little better, but not by much. Dancing was fun, but I never danced for very long. An hour long dance session would probably be the death of me.

"Uh maybe some other time." I said as I pulled in. I felt like one of those soccer moms with lunatics for children as Rey and Lela were itching to get out of their seats. As soon as I unbuckled them they ran inside and I followed. I went into studio 4 and there was Brittany stretching with Rey and Lela running around in circles.

"Hi Brittany." I said. The blond turned and ran towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Hi Santana. I missed you; hey guess who's here too?" Brittany asked. I was confused as to who would be here besides us. Usually the whole place was empty when we had lessons like this.

"Who?"

"Rachel, she's in the studio next door, practicing for our solo section. You can go over and watch, just stay quiet, Rachel really likes to focus." I nodded and eagerly headed over to studio 5. I could see her through the windows, but I cracked the door open, immediately hit by some incredibly beautiful classical piece when I did so. Rachel didn't notice as I slipped in, and I was thankful for that.

I just wanted to watch her. She was very fluid. Her height didn't restrain her like I thought it would, instead it made me watch in awe when she jumped higher than even I could. I wondered how she got into ballet and not hip-hop. She lived in Lima, but she wasn't afraid of anything, she could've made it in my neighborhood if she wanted to. She was much tougher than I was that was for sure.

She finished and paused for a moment, before spinning around and looking at me. It didn't occur to me until then that she had her eyes closed the whole time she was performing. A smile immediately crept on her face, almost masked by her reddened cheeks. "Oh my god I'm so embarrassed." She said covering her face with her hands.

"Don't be, I thought you were…mesmerizing." I blushed at the sound of my own voice. At the sound of my idiotic, and cheesy voice. "I didn't think dancing was supposed to make people feel like this." I said. I covered my mouth for a second, realizing that I'd actually said that out loud. Rachel stopped before she could reach down and grab her duffle bag.

"Feel like what?"

"Just…I don't know." I lied. I looked around the room, and nodded towards Rachel's bag. "You can go ahead and put on your sweats or whatever, I'll just sit…here." I slid down and sat on the floor. Rachel pulled on her sweat pants and sat down next to me.

"Why don't you take musical lessons? I mean you were amazing when I saw you play, and you are certainly good enough to play professionally…so why no lessons?" I pondered the question for a moment. Lessons?

"I don't want to perfect something that is just so natural. I don't lie learning, I never have, I just like feeling." I told her truthfully.

"Very…poetic." Rachel said as she intertwined our fingers. "How does this feel?" I opened my mouth to say something, but her lips were touching mine before I could even start. It felt strange to be dominated like this; it was even weirder that I just let her continue to do so. We didn't stop until a minute had past, maybe two, I'd lost track when she bit down on my lip, but when we pulled away Rachel immediately started talking again. "You're amazing."

"I'm just…me."

"Have those guys bothered you? Have they said anything?" Rachel asked. I could sense the worry on Rachel's voice. She seen too many gang stories on _Lockup Raw_, this gang just wasn't the same. I wanted to tell her that I could handle it, but I couldn't. I know who I should talk to, but I also know I can't do that.

"They won't do anything." I said trying to convince myself of the same thing.

"Puck seems to be convinced that you can't handle it. You're tough, I mean you stood your ground…I just don't understand where he's coming from. Why does he think that?" Should I tell her? I mean we just kissed, for no reason, with no incredible in-the-moment desire behind it, which meant that we were becoming a thing. She deserves to know, but when she finds out will she accept it, will it scare her? Will _I _scare her?

"Because he's a moron." I said knowing that at least I wouldn't be lying about that. "Those guys, _Peligro Rojo_…they just terrorize, that's never really scared me."

"But you are scared." I turned towards her, trying to look into her eyes, trying to read where she was coming from. "Everyone's a little scared of something."

"What are you afraid of?" I asked her.

"You." I pulled away from her; I could hear a faint thud from the sound her hand made when I yanked my hand away from hers. Of all the things in the entire world for her to fear she had to say _me. _"Every time I look at you I know you're hiding something and that scares me."

"That's fair I guess." I said pushing my toe down against the ground. "My father wants to meet you. So you should come over soon I guess."

"I've met your siblings and your mom…so now your dad? We're basically dating." Rachel said with a smile.

"I hate labels." I muttered.

"Do you hate communists too?" Rachel asked playfully. I turned around and caught her smiling at me from where she was sitting on the ground.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, who's the free spirit here, you or me? Sometimes I feel like you're in control, but other times it's so easy for me to take over." Rachel said. I was about to answer her when my phone began vibrating in my pocket. I reached for it and answered it quickly as soon as I read Quinn's name across the screen.

"Hey, Q, what's up?"

"You'll never guess who just showed up at my place?" My mind immediately went to her father. If he was there, then Quinn was probably losing her mind. She sounded calm though, almost as if she had the situation under control.

"Who? Your dad?"

"No…just…head over to my place as soon as you can. I'll go to Puck's…just hurry."

Rachel's POV

When I was at Santana's house, I mean when I slept over that one night, I did some sneaking around. Not a lot. I didn't go through her panties drawer, but I did look at some of her stacks of CDs, some of her books, and a lot of her clothes.

When I went into her bathroom, I looked in her medicine cabinet, just out of curiosity. I didn't think I'd find so many things in there. So many bottles, all the medications with names I'd never heard of. Where all those hers?

That was impossible. There were at least 12 bottles in there, she must share with her siblings. Her younger brother took that one medication and he had asthma too. Maybe they shared the same condition that would make sense, right? But why was she so secretive about that? There had to be something more.

Was I jumping into something I couldn't handle? Was she?

We just needed to go out on a date, a real one, and maybe that would help clear things up. "Honey, what are you thinking about?" I turned and looked at my father and tried to force a smile. "Is this about that girl?"

"I can't stop thinking about her." I told him truthfully. He lifted a box onto the table and opened it with a box cutter. I watched him arrange the packs of candy on the front counter while I just sat down. "She different you know. I know what you thought of her when she came in here with her community service jumper on but…she's nothing like that."

"Tell me what makes her special."

"Her passion…I mean more like the way she just goes about things. She has two younger siblings and she's perfect with them. I've heard her play the drums and…dad, I've never heard anyone that amazing." He nodded his head as I spoke, I wanted to continue and explain why I was still not diving right into a relationship. To explain why we were both reluctant to do so, but I didn't. "I want her to play for me again, but I don't know how to ask her about it."

"Just invite her over." My dad suggested.

"I would…I mean I have-."

"And where were we?" I looked around and shrugged. "Are you asking permission to have a guest over when your father and I aren't home?" I nodded thinking that since he suggested it, he would have to say yes. "Are you two having sex?"

"No." I assured him.

"You spent the night at her house, Rachel. Don't lie to me."

"We didn't, I swear. She slept on her couch and I slept on her bed." I told him. "She's a sweetheart dad, she's a good girl."

"You'd better not be a bad influence on her." My father warned. I rolled my eyes and took a candy bar out of one of the boxes.

"I'm a bad girl, so what?"

…

Santana's POV

When I arrived at Quinn's trailer she wasn't there. I thought about knocking, but I stood outside for a second. I wished that I could smoke, I at least wished I could hold a cigarette in my hand, it would help with the anxiety I was feeling right now. Why hadn't Quinn stayed? Who was inside?

I opened the trailer door and walked inside. When I saw her, I took a step back. What was she doing here? Why did she come here and not to my house? "You need to get out." I told her. I wanted her to listen to me; I wanted her to just do something that I asked for, and not to question it.

She ran her fingers through her auburn colored hair and I could tell that she had a lot that she wanted to say, but I knew she just didn't know how to say it. "Did you hear me? I said get out." She looked like she was about to cry, like if I said one more word then she was going to break down and fall to the floor.

"San-."

"Don't." I warned her. "What makes you think you can come to Quinn's place like this? She doesn't need to be involved in whatever you're planning."

"I'm not planning anything." She yelled before covering her mouth and turning away from me. I charged towards her and grabbed her wrist, examining to see if there were any needle marks in her arm. Once I let go of her right wrist, I checked her left one. The weird thing was that she just let me do it, I was actually expecting her to pull away.

"You're a liar Chloe, and you've always been a goddamn liar." I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned. "Why the hell are you here?" I questioned.

"San, don't get worked up." Her hands were on my shoulders and I felt like screaming. Like hitting her and running away. "You always get worked up." She said as she brushed my hair away from my face. "I needed to talk to you about what happened at the party."

"Oh about how your boys are out to get me-."

"They aren't. I told them to back the hell off. They'll never touch you, I swear." A promise from her meant nothing to me, but I didn't know how to communicate that with her. "I haven't seen you in awhile…I mean before the party, I hadn't seen you in months." I diverted my eyes away from hers.

"You choose them over me, you choose fucking drugs over me."

"But we never broke up, you never said-."

"Shut up Chloe, would you just shut your mouth for Christ's sake?" I grabbed both of her arms, tightly, too tight. I let go and then turned away from her. My breathing increased, I didn't have it. I'd forgotten it at home again.

"San." Chloe yelled wrapping her arms around me to keep me up. "San, where's your inhaler…San…I'm calling your parents. I'll call…" I didn't even know what she was saying anymore. I didn't think she was even speaking in complete sentences at this point, I just felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was dying.


	10. Andres

**Read and Review.**

Rachel's POV

I didn't know if I should go for a run, or practice scales. I'd been stuck between my two passions for a few days, unable to understand which one made me feel more. There was a third passion, one that had just disappeared for the past three days, and one that I think I wanted to fight for.

Santana.

Where was she? The last thing she told me was that I should meet her father, I figured she'd invite me over at least, or maybe she was waiting for me to ask to come over. Maybe she wanted me to show up unexpectedly like I'd done before. I wish I knew.

This was the most confusing relationship I'd ever been in. There was no order to it, no reason for it, and both of us didn't seem to mind. I just wanted to see her again, soon, today even. Maybe I could go over there now. Maybe she was actually avoiding me for a reason.

Did I do something wrong?

I thought about calling Kurt over, I could use a big bucket of ice cream and a sappy movie to take my mind off things. I could also use Santana. Her dark eyes, always exploring me, always curious and never dull.

I sat down on my bed and pondered for a second. Why was I suddenly so indecisive? I think Santana made me this way. I was afraid to overstep my boundaries with her, because I knew that there was something that she was hiding from me. I was proud of myself for telling her that sometimes she just scared me. I don't like mystery, it makes the world seem much larger than it actually is, and it makes me feel helpless.

I heard the doorbell ring downstairs and I got up and rushed downstairs to get the door. I thought it would be Santana, well at least I hoped it would be her. But it was Quinn. She was shy, and I knew that, but the way she was looking at me right now, almost made her look like a child. "Hi." I said trying to give her a smile.

"Hey, can you uh…could you give me a ride to the hospital?" Immediately my eyes scanned her body for injuries. I didn't see anything, but who knows what could've happened to her. I knew that when she was drunk she was a different person, and I also knew that she didn't just drink for fun, she drank to forget.

"Are you okay? Should I call the ambulance?" She gave me a confused stare before frowning.

"Wait, you haven't heard?" Quinn asked with furrowed eyebrows. I thought about taking a step back and letting Quinn in, but I was already grabbing my car keys and pushing her towards my car.

"Heard what?" I questioned hoping she was the type of person who just cut to the chase. She got into the passenger's side of the car and I got into the driver's seat. I began driving even though she hadn't explained anything yet. I was driving faster than I normally did, but I felt like I needed to go now.

"About Santana, she's been in the hospital for three days. She passed out at my place…I don't really know what happened. The doctors have been running tests but today she's being released." Quinn explained.

"I don't…look I don't understand why…I mean why did she pass out?" I asked. Did this have to do with those meds I found in her bathroom? What else did Quinn know about this?

"She…um…well I guess you can ask her if you want." Quinn said. We parked close to the entrance, and I followed Quinn the rest of the way.

"Wait are her parents here?" I asked Quinn. I was still worried about first impressions, especially with her dad.

"No, San didn't want them to pick her up. I was going to ask Puck but…do you mind taking her home?" Of course I didn't mind, I just wanted to know why I was the last to hear about this. "Just to warn you she's going to be kind of lethargic and she won't want to talk about what happened." I nodded, but I always had so many more questions.

"How many times has this happened?" I questioned as we turned around a corner.

"I don't know, I've never counted." That meant that this wasn't just a one time thing. This was something serious. "I thought you were going to save your questions for Santana." I shrugged and watched as Quinn opened the door to a room slowly. She entered and I followed, unsure of what I was going to see.

Santana was putting on her shoes, and her hair was up in a bun. She hadn't looked up since we'd entered but I had this feeling that she knew we were there. "San." Quinn said. Santana finally looked up and her eyes immediately landed on me.

"I thought Puck was picking me up." She said. She looked angry with Quinn, like she'd messed up. "I don't want her seeing me like this." She was trying to say it quietly but I heard, and Quinn's shoulders slumped. I wondered what the big deal was. Santana looked normal, there were dark spots under her eyes but other than that she looked the same.

"Your mom already signed the paper work so we can head home now…but she was upset you know." Quinn said as she went to grab a wheelchair for Santana. I knew what the rules were. Patients had to leave the hospital in a wheelchair, even if they wanted to walk out. Santana starred at the wheelchair and kicked it away with her foot. "I have to wheel you out, they won't let you walk out." Quinn explained.

"I know that." Santana said with a frown.

"I'll wheel you out of here." I offered. Santana looked up at me and smiled for the first time since we'd gotten here. "If that's okay."

"Yeah…of course." Santana got into the wheelchair willingly and I just wanted to wrap my arms around her body and never let go. She looked fragile, like the wrong words could break her. I wanted to talk to her alone, but with Quinn here that could prove to be impossible.

"Hey, I need to pee, I'll be back in a sec." Quinn said as if she'd heard my internal thoughts. Santana and I waited in silence for a few moments before she finally spoke up.

"I bet you have a lot of questions." She said with a sigh.

"Yes, but I just want to know what happened, and if you are okay." I cared more about her wellbeing than anything else. We could talk specifics later.

"Chloe was at Quinn's place…I was just so upset with her, I was so tired of her bullshit, and…I…I just passed out I guess. Too much stress or something." Santana explained. She was lying and I could tell and she knew I could tell. "I don't want to go back home right now, could I maybe crash at your place. Just for a few hours."

"Yeah, but only if it's okay with your parents. I don't want them to worry." I told her.

"Sure I'll call them first."

…

Santana's POV

I enjoyed being alone with Rachel but I wondered how much she even trusted me at this point. I'd lied to her, more than once and I wondered how much she could take. We weren't dating, so there was no real obligation, but I wanted something with her. I wanted her friendship and I wanted her.

I was sitting in her kitchen as she prepared some pasta for me. I didn't ask her to do it, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching her do it.

"So why was your ex at Quinn's trailer?" Rachel asked. I had been waiting for this question for the past two hours. I knew she'd want to know. A part of her was jealous, a part of her wanted to protect herself from me. But most of her had to make sure that I wasn't playing with her heart.

"She was telling me how her crew was going to back off me. She said that they were just trying to scare me. She told me that she'd protect me, and some other gracious bullshit." I said taking a drink of water.

"I only saw her once and it was dark, how pretty is she?" Yeah, Rachel was definitely jealous. I smirked and walked over so that we were standing side by side. She was putting the noodles on and grating cheese.

"Why do you sound jealous?" I questioned.

"Look you and I are unlabeled, and your ex was just hanging around with you. Sorry if I'm inferring something else."

"It's not like that. Chloe and I…it's been over for awhile. Why do you think I'm here with you?" I asked her.

"Why do you keep lying to me? I know you didn't pass out because of some anxiety attack or something. I saw all those medications in your medicine cabinet." Rachel was spewing out facts like an encyclopedia. I didn't know how I should react. I didn't know how much she really wanted to know. I didn't know how deep into the past she wanted to go.

"Can I listen to you sing?" I don't know why I said it. I wasn't even trying to change the subject, I just wanted to hear her. I'd seen her dance, but this would be different. I took her hand and intertwined our fingers. "If you let me hear you then I'll tell you everything."

"Okay let's go upstairs-." I stopped her before she could move away.

"No, just sing right now." I stood behind her, pressing my hands down on the counter on either side of her. I was mimicking our earlier actions at my house.

"Now?" She asked.

"Yeah, just sing me something, I don't care if it's a chorus, a hook, or whatever. I'm just desperate to hear your voice." I told her.

"Okay, I'll just sing my current favorite." She said. I could feel the energy in her voice. The nervous excitement.

_Stand up straight at the foot of your love  
I'll lift my shirt up  
Stand up straight at the foot of your love  
I'll lift my shirt up  
_

I kissed her neck and I had no idea why. Her voice was beautiful, but I had expected that, what surprised me was the tenderness of her voice. I was so attracted to her that I found myself lost in the melody, not the words.

_I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees  
I never married but Ohio don't remember me_

I felt my hands against her hips. Lifting her shirt up, kissing her collarbone, touching her bra clad breasts. "W-what are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"Is this okay?" I asked as I lifted her shirt over her head.

"You keep lying to me. You're doing this so I'll forget about what you said. But I won't forget." She pushed me back and pulled her shirt back on. "The hospital, tell me why you were there?"

"Rachel, please…give me time to-."

"No, I deserve to know. I can't move forward with you if I know nothing about you." She said holding onto my bicep.

"I spent most of my childhood in the hospital. It's where I learned how to play the drums, it's where I learned everything. It's why there's such a huge distance between me and my father. He was gone and so was I. There's more but I don't want to talk about it. Can we just…watch a movie? Could we maybe just relax?"

"Yeah, and Santana…" I looked over at her and she was smiling back. "Next time when you feel like getting handsy, at least make sure we're in a bedroom or something."

"Can do Rachel."

…

I picked up my bottle of pills and tossed it on my bed. How many was I supposed to take anyway? I felt like shit. I always felt like this after I had one of my episodes. Maybe I should just take every single one of those pills at once, end it once and for all. I heard my door open and in came Rey and Lela.

Maybe not.

"Can you munchkins go somewhere else? I'm tired and I want to be alone." Just by saying I wanted to be alone, it automatically made then want to stay. They both rushed over to my bed and sat down side by side.

"Mama said that we should keep you company. She's been worried since you came home from the hospital." Lela said as she curled up by my pillow. "If you want to talk to someone we're here for ya." She added as she reached for a book that was resting on my nightstand and examined the back of it.

"Good to hear." I muttered as I laid down on my stomach and played with Rey's hair. "What's up little man?"

"I was scared when you were at the hospital." Rey said quietly. "I didn't sleep very much."

"Were you having nightmares?" I asked. I lifted him up and wrapped my arms around him. All he did was nod his head. I thought of tell him that I would protect him. I'd always told him that, but I knew when it came down to it, I was useless.

"Oh such a Kodak moment." We all looked towards my bedroom door. None of us were prepared for the visit, we weren't expecting him to be home today, maybe in a week, but not today.

"Andres!" Lela and Rey screamed running over and hugging our older brother. He lifted them both up in his arms, kissing their foreheads and laughing. I smiled, but stayed put on the bed.

"Hey you two go downstairs and help _mama en la cocina_. Come on, giddy-up." Lela and Rey were happy to listen and they ran downstairs to the kitchen. Andres slowly walked over to my bed, his eyes focused on me and I thought that maybe he was going to cry, or maybe I was.

"Hey." I said before my arms latched onto him, holding onto him. I didn't realize how much I missed him until this very moment. He was the one to pull away first, but his hands were still on my shoulders.

"What happened a few days ago? Mom called me crying hysterically. I thought that…" He looked down at the ground and then wrapped his arms around me again. "What happened? You haven't had an episode like that in a long time I thought. What triggered it?" He questioned.

"Chloe." I said running my fingers through my hair. Andres crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with her."

"I may have started something with those rojo pricks, but Chloe said she'd make sure nothing happened." I explained to him. "You didn't have to come home, you have a job to do."

"I also have a family, and an idiotic sister." He said nudging me. "Plus I missed mama's food. How are things with you and dad?" I just shrugged in response. "Well he told me about the community service."

"To be fair all I did was run." I said in my own defense.

"You ran?" He exclaimed.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." I told him truthfully.

"I want you to be more careful." He commanded.

"Sorry, is that an order?" Andres grabbed my shoulder and frowned at me. "What?" I asked pushing his arm away and sitting back down on my bed. He was just watching me, reading me. "Stop it."

"You first. Why are you acting like this isn't serious?" He questioned. "Too many people care about you for you to be this careless with your life." He sat down on the bed next to me. "What this new girl's name?" I looked at him, I was astonished, how could he even know. "You're afraid that she's special, and you're afraid that you'll have to be truthful with her about everything. Are you trying to protect her?"

"Of course I am. Do you think I want her to know about how I can't even run without feeling like I'm going to die? I told her about how I stayed in the hospital as a kid, but I didn't tell her about every other detail."

"What's her name?" He asked.

"Rachel." I told him. "And she's a Lima girl not from the Heights." I explained.

"Oh you're so in for it. When do I get to meet her?" He asked.

"Try never." I replied. He grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "She's cute though right?"

"Beyond cute. She's a dancer and a singer too." I said proudly. "Too bad you're too much of a loser to get a girl like that." I joked.

"Take that back!" Andres said pushing my shoulder. I just laughed and pushed him back.

"Make me Andrea." I challenged. He was in the midst of lifting me over his shoulder when my father appeared in the doorway.

"Dinner's ready." He said. "Oh and try not to kill your baby sister."

**Santana's working on trying to open up to Rachel, but hopefully her brother will help. Next chapter, I'm thinking of a family gathering, including Puck's family, Quinn's family, and Rachel. I might even have Chloe show up again.**

**By the way the song is Bloodbuzz Ohio by The National.**


	11. You're Not Welcome Here

**It's been awhile loyal readers, but I hope I didn't make you wait too long. Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"Hola mama." Puck said as he stepped past me and into my house. My mom eyed him curiously before kissing both his cheeks and giving him a spoonful of the ice cream Lela and Rey were trying to sneak. "Delicious." Puck said as he plopped down on the couch.

"Hey dipshit, where's the rest of your clan?" I asked Puck nudging his shoulder. We did this on occasion. Having a bunch of people from the neighborhood come over for good food and of course music. Puck was supposed to come with his mom and brother.

"Santana language." My mother warned from inside the kitchen. Before I even had the option of asking her when she got her super hearing power, the doorbell rang again. I walked over and opened in surprised to see that my cousin Selena showed up alone.

"Wow you showed up without a man on your arm? Must be a dry spell huh?" I joked. She punched me on the shoulder and pushed past me to go into the kitchen to help my mom cook. "Hey Puck, Quinn's coming right?" I asked. When I asked her yesterday, she didn't really give me a yes or no answer. She was distant and unresponsive so I just assumed that she'd show up eventually.

"I dunno, she didn't tell me. Is your girl coming?" Puck asked. I peered around the corner and into the kitchen to see if my mother noticed what Puck said. I could hear footsteps from upstairs as Lela, Rey, and Andres all descended down and came into the room. I put my finger to my lips warning Puck to keep his mouth shut about Rachel. I didn't want anyone in my family hounding her, especially because we weren't dating, and we weren't in a great spot right now.

"Big brother, how's it going?" Puck said shaking Andres' hand. I watched in amusement as Puck tried to puff out his chest to match the look of confidence from Andres. Puck idolized my older brother for whatever reason and I let them having their bonding time. I thought it was good for Puck. Andres is a better older brother than Mani. I let Lela go ogle Puck while I lifted Rey up into my arms.

"_Hemanito_, what do you say about opening the door with me?" I asked. He nodded quickly and started bouncing in my arms, anticipating the next ring of the doorbell. It took all of two seconds before another ring of the doorbell.

"Tana, just leave the door open." My mother shouted from the kitchen. Rey and I exchanged looks before we went over to open the door. Quinn was standing there with Rachel and Mani on either side of her. I found it a little odd that they all showed up at the same time, but I didn't question it. Mani spotted Andres and practically knocked me over as he ran over to greet him.

"Hey Q-." She brushed by me with a scowl on her face as she sat down on a chair in the living room. I didn't even get a chance to ask her why she was acting like a maniac. That just left Rachel. "Hi, I'm really happy you came." I told her truthfully. "Rey, greet Rachel."

"Hola Rachel." Rey said. He nudged my shoulder until I let him down. He ran over and jumped on Quinn's lap in an adorable attempt to cheer her up.

"You look cute." I told her. Eyeing her jean shorts, black _Doc Martens_ and aqua blue v-neck.

"Try again." Rachel said with a smirk.

"You look sexy." I kissed both her cheeks, as it was the casual greeting and grabbed her hand to take her inside. Andres was the first to stand. I could see the curiosity oozing from his pours. "Rachel this is my brother Andres, Andres this is my friend Rachel." They shook hands and I noticed that practically everyone in the room had stopped talking and began looking at Rachel and Andres.

"Nice to meet you." Andres said winking at me before he sat back down. Rachel turned to me and smiled.

"The resemblance is crazy." Rachel said pushing my hair back behind my ear. "Where's your dad?" She asked.

"Eagar are we?" She nudged me and I caught her hand before she could try to push me again. "He's out back cooking; we still have plenty more people showing up. He'll be out later, but first give me a sec to talk to my friend over here." I nodded towards Quinn. "Hey Rey." He jumped up off Quinn's lap and ran over by my side. "You know how to keep a beautiful woman entertain right?"

"Yea, just keep talking and charm her pants off." He said proudly.

"And whatever you do, don't tell mom I told you that." I patted him on the head before I walked over towards Quinn. "What's up TT?"

"Fuck off." Quinn said crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's your deal? My mom's making goddamn empanadas. If you didn't want fucking empanadas then why the hell are you here?" Quinn uncrossed her arms and let out a loud sigh.

"My mom's bringing that dickhole of a boyfriend over here." Quinn informed me.

"So what? He's not your dad." I grabbed her arm tightly. "What are you gonna do? Stop your mom from ever being happy again."

"I don't like him-."

"You don't like anyone." I reminded her. "So what do you think of Rachel showing?"

"I think that when everyone gets here you should take her upstairs." I would've punched Quinn in the face if I thought I could get away clean. I new she could take me and I wasn't trying to take the chance.

"Real funny TT." I said looking towards the door when I heard it open. In came Ms. Puckerman and Ms. Fabray, who was joined by a man holding her hand. I could sense that Quinn was about to gag when they showed. "Finally some sane people." I said wrapping Ms. Puckerman into a hug.

"As much as we'd adore staying here with you Santana, we're looking for the adults." Ms. Fabray said. I pointed towards the kitchen and the two ladies started heading towards my mom and the scent of food. I stopped the man at Ms. Fabray's side by pressing my hand to his chest. He eyed me curiously. I held out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Santana." I told him. My stare wasn't cold, but it for sure wasn't welcoming. I had to eye this guy up. I needed to know that Quinn would be alright.

"Hi, my name's Derrick." He had a firm handshake but he wasn't trying to prove anything. He looked kind, well kind enough to make me worry a lot less. I didn't get why Quinn had beef with him, he seemed alright. "You have a lovely home." He said before following the two ladies into the kitchen. Once I was sure he was gone I turned around and glared at Quinn.

"Oh yea he's a real asshole." I said sarcastically.

"Language." Andres warned me.

"Bite me." I told him. I forced Puck and Mani to get up so Rachel and I could sit next to each other. "Can you believe I have to live with these people?" I joked.

"They're all lovely." She assured me. "What does your brother do?" She asked.

"He plays with action figures." I said with a huge grin on my face. Rachel smacked my knee and laughed.

"You know what I meant."

"He's a cop. A tough one too." I tried not to get serious about it. I respected my brother's job, I respected him, so it was hard not to tell Rachel all of that. "He just wants to make our dad proud. He wanted to join the marines right out of high school, my mom would've killed him herself if he did. So once he graduated college he went straight to the academy."

"Well your dad's a military man, your brother's a cop…you gonna be a firefighter or something?" I smiled at that. I didn't know how I could ever live up to Andres. I mean, in my condition I couldn't exactly chase down bad guys.

"Or something." I said with a small smile. I heard a knock at the door, I wondered why whoever it was didn't just come inside. Around here an open door meant anyone could enter. Rey rushed to the door to answer it, and within a second he was staring at me with those big brown eyes of his. "I'll be back." I told Rachel as I stood up and walked over to the door. As soon as our eyes made contact, I knew I was going to lose it.

I flung open the door and grabbed her arm pushing her back onto the porch. "What are you doing?" I said between clenched teeth. "I told you to stay away."

"Santana you're not thinking clearly." Chloe told me.

"What do you want me to think with? My brain? No I've got heart, I've always had heart." She rubbed my shoulder as if that would make everything okay. It wouldn't. I couldn't handle this. Not again.

"That's a funny thing to say Santana." God how I wanted to hit her. Over and over and over again. "Look I didn't come here to hurt you…I just, I basically spent my life here. I saw the lights on, the door was open and-."

"You're not a part of this family anymore. You're not welcome here." I told her. I heard the door open behind me and Andres took a step out onto the porch.

"Come back inside baby sis." He said glaring directly at Chloe. I wanted to say something else to Chloe, but before I could open my mouth Andres was speaking again. "Don't argue, don't say anything else, just come back inside." I was obligated to listen to him because I knew he'd always have my back.

"Get out of here." I told her harshly as I took one-step up the porch. I stopped when I didn't hear her moving away. "I said get the hell-."

"Santana!" I stopped as soon as I heard my father's voice. He'd come around to the front of the house from where he'd been barbequing for the past hour. He had his apron slung over his shoulder and a spatula in his right hand.

"What?!" I didn't mean to snap at him, but I could sense where he was going with this. He didn't care about how I felt about things, he just had rules that had to be followed.

"It's nice to see you Chloe, come on inside." My jaw nearly hit the ground. What was he doing? He couldn't invite her inside.

"But dad." He wasn't going to listen to my objections, I knew he wasn't, but why didn't he see how much this would hurt me?

"No buts. This is our home and when the door is open, everyone is welcome. Now Chloe the food's out, you can come in and spend some time with the family." My father said nodding over to Andres who opened the front door so Chloe could walk inside. I was seconds away from chasing after her and telling her that it didn't matter what my father said. I didn't want her there so she should respect me enough to leave.

"_Qué demonios papa?_" I let out a frustrated sigh and glared at him, this wasn't fair.

"_El perdón es importante._ You know forgiveness is what holds this family together." I rolled my eyes. Why does he get to be all high and mighty?

"So what? She's not a part of this family-."

"Well she was." He said confidently. "I never said you have to welcome her back into your heart, but I am asking you to welcome her into our home. I know she hurt you, trust me I know that, but for a couple of years she was also your best friend, your closest companion. If you look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't want her here right now then I'll go in there and drag her out by her hair, but I just don't believe that you hate her that much." I tried to stand there and look him in the eyes, but he was too intense.

"Okay fine." I said running my fingers through my hair. "I'm going back inside." I told him as I started walking towards the front door.

"By the way I met Rachel." I spun around and tried not to look too excited.

"And…?"

"I like her. She's very kind, respectful, she called me sir and you know how I feel about that." I rolled my eyes and nodded my head. "Go back inside and talk to her, hang out, have a good time." I pulled the door open and watched my dad return to the backyard. Before I could take a step in Rachel stopped me.

"Hey, sorry about being all over the place tonight." I apologized.

"No problem, your brother, older brother I mean has kept me entertained with stories." Rachel said smiling. "I didn't think you'd bring your girlfriend though."

"Ex." I corrected. "And believe me she wasn't invited." I assured Rachel. She turned around and looked at Chloe who was sitting down, talking to Nacho who must of showed up while I was occupied and Lela who was admiring Chloe's hair.

"How do you feel about PDA?" Rachel asked.

"W-what? I mean I guess I don't really have-." She grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me towards her, pressing our lips together. I was shocked but not bothered by the gesture. At least all the parents were in the other room, and at least Rachel only slipped her tongue into my mouth for a second, otherwise I would've picked her up and brought her to my bedroom. We she pulled away she looked directly into my eyes and wiped her bottom lip with her thumb.

"Sorry, I just wanted to give them something to talk about."

…...

Rachel's POV

I took a step outside. I promised Santana that I would be right back, but I just wanted to take a smoke to relax a bit. I leaned against the porch railing and smoking when I heard the front door open. I turned around and spotted Chloe. She eyed me curiously before mirroring my position against the railing.

"Can I bum one?" She asked nodding towards my cigarette. I lit one for her and handed it to her. She took a long drag before she looked at me again.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing I was just wondering how long you've known Santana." She inquired. There was clearly more to it, and I hoped she didn't think I couldn't handle it, because I could. She didn't intimidate me, not in the slightest.

"A few weeks. A little while ago she invited me to a party, we flirted and all that and now here we are." I explained.

"Has she fucked you yet?" I tried not to flinch. I couldn't let her think that I was shocked by what she was saying. She was bold but so was I.

"What makes you think that she'd be the one fucking me?" I replied blowing smoke into her face.

"Oh your suburban white girl thing is kinda cute." Chloe said trying to pinch my cheek. I smacked her hand away and took a step back. "Look Matilda, give it up. The only person that really knows Santana is me."

"Newsflash you already had your chance." I looked towards the road when I heard a car pulling up. It must be Chloe's ride. I could see the guy in the front seat, he was from that gang who threatened Santana.

"You don't know her like I do. You don't know every inch of her body, the things that make her bite down on your neck, the things that make her fall to her knees. Have fun while it lasts." Chloe said coldly before she walked down the steps and got into the car. I tried my best to ignore her but it was difficult.

"Hey." I turned around and there was Santana standing there with her arms crossed. "What'd the bitch say to you?" She asked as she slowly walked over to stand next to me. "It doesn't matter…whatever she said she lied." I wanted to tell her that it wasn't fair to condemn Chloe for lying if Santana was doing the same thing.

"She said a lot of things, but they weren't all lies." I assured Santana. She turned away from me and fidgeted with her fingers. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her inhaler, inhaling deeply before putting it back. "Okay don't ever do that again in my presence, because it's the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen." She replied playfully.

"Stop it." I said when she started playing with the hem of my jean shorts. Her fingers dipped under them, and I gasped when she touched my panties.

"I could get used to that noise."

"Don't get cocky." I warned her as I teasingly pushed her back against the railing. "Do you like when I push you around? Do you like when I do what I want with you?" She smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yes ma'am." She whispered.

"Good, then you're mine." I said grabbing her necklace and moving her head closer to me.

"I'm yours." She tried to kiss me but I moved my head back. Before she could protest, I kissed her bottom lip and nipped down, loving the sound of her groan against my lips.

"Cough cough." Santana and I quickly separated, both turning to face Andres. "Rey's been asking for you."

"Oh I'll be right there." Santana said.

"No not you." He said with a small smile. "He was asking for Rachel."

**I hope you all enjoyed it. Review please.**


	12. It's Quinn

**Sorry it's been awhile since I last updated, but I hope this will make up for that. Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"Kill him Rey!" I shouted across the street as my little brother was going head to head against Andres. Rey was an emerging soccer star; I planned on riding his fame into my late forties at least. Andres was not above stealing the ball away from Rey and kicking it the other way, which he promptly did, passing it right to Puck. I told Andres the teams weren't fair from the beginning. Sure Rey was a stud, but he was all of three feet tall and Quinn was never helpful in games like this. She was overly aggressive and selfish. Nacho was pretty good, but Mani was much better. I should've asked to trade Lela for Puck because she was skipping up and down the street like this was a parade or something.

And here I was the biggest scrub on the planet, just standing in goal, blocking everything that came my way.

I guess that was why I nearly jumped out of my shoes when Rachel's car pulled into my driveway. Puck took a shot on goal, trying to take my head out, but I blocked the ball, catching it before it could ricochet or rebound off my body. "Take that you little fucker!" I said rubbing Puck's head and punting the ball down towards Rey.

"Santana! Language!" Rachel yelled as she jogged over and leaned over the fence watching in amusement as Rey kicked the ball between Andres' legs and scored on Mani.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming over. I would've had you on my team." I said with a smile.

"I'm not really very sporty." She replied. "Guess what?" She said tugging on the hem of my shirt.

"Hold on." I told her as I waved towards Quinn getting her attention. "Hey TT, take my spot." Quinn rolled her eyes but ran over here nonetheless and tagged me out as goalie. I wrapped my arm around Rachel's shoulder. "I give up…I can't guess, what is it?"

"I got a new guitar…well I mean my dad got one. I was wondering if you wanted to come over and play it?" I was nodding and walking towards Rachel's car. Just as I was putting my hand on the door handle, my mom burst out of the house with her cell phone in her hand and a scowl on her face. This was not good.

"_Aqui, ahora_!" I didn't move from where I was standing, but my mom just kept walking towards me. "Senora Mendez from across the street told me that you were playing soccer out here." I looked around hoping that Quinn at least would back me up. I didn't expect much from anyone else.

The game had stopped for a moment and Andres came jogging over with Rey trailing behind. Quinn wasn't too far away and I could see Puck already looking guiltier by the moment.

"I wasn't playing. I was standing in goal." I rationalized.

"What did the doctor say Santana?" She asked putting her hands on her hips.

"But mom I wasn't even moving-."

"What did he say, _mija_?!" She repeated this time more sternly. I could see Rachel shift uncomfortably next to me, and I rested my hand on the small of her back in an attempt to make her less antsy.

"No sports." I replied hanging my head a little bit. "I'll be more careful mom, now can I go? Rachel wants to show me her new guitar." It was only now that my mother noticed Rachel standing there and she walked over, kissed both her cheeks, and rested her hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"Will you take care of my baby?" I rolled my eyes and opened the passenger's side door hoping that would speed this little heart to heart up.

"Of course, she's in good hands." Rachel promised.

"You don't know her like I do, she's always pushing boundaries and she always wants to do things she can't. Ask Santana for my number so you can call me if she does anything stupid…" I got into the car with the door still open, I was about to meddle with the radio when Rey came storming into the car and jumping on my lap.

Rachel was done talking to my mom and she got in the driver's side like she was about to drive off, but then she saw Rey sitting there. "Uh…buddy? What's going on?" I asked.

"I didn't know you were leaving." He said tugging on the front of my shirt and sticking his thumb into his mouth. "Who's going to protect me?" I never understood why he'd suddenly fall back into being afraid of everything.

"Andres is home, he'll protect you buddy. Come on don't be silly."

"But Andres didn't protect me before, you did." I looked over at Rachel and gave her an apologetic smile, but I could tell she was going to ask about what happened as soon as Rey wasn't there.

"No Rey, I tried remember." I felt uncomfortable and I knew it wasn't Rey's fault. "Okay I gotta go though Rey, just stick with Andres or go over to Puck's house. Will you be alright?"

"Yea, bye Sanni." He tried jumping off my lap, but I stopped him before he could get too far away. "Sorry…bye Rachel." He added before speeding off towards Mani and stealing the ball from him. Rachel put on her seatbelt and then reached over to put on mine. I laughed at her as we pulled out of my driveway.

"I'm not that fragile." I told her.

"Sorry…I don't know, your mom makes it seem like you are." Rachel said turning the radio off and eyeing me curiously.

"Just ask."

"Okay." She said slightly composing herself before she spoke. "What was Rey talking about? Why is he so afraid when you leave him?"

"Something happened, about a year and a half ago. Some guys crashed a party, it was just someone's birthday party…I don't know. They were thugs, looking to start trouble with us, with Andres mostly. I told Rey and Quinn that we had to leave so we did. We dropped off Quinn at her place and then we started walking back to my house." I stopped thinking back the moment when my life flashed before my eyes. "Those guys hassled us, said stupid shit, stuff they couldn't even defend. They started saying Rey's only option should be to join their gang."

"That's awful, did they hurt you?" Rachel asked.

"Yea…I mean whatever, so they kicked the shit out of me, I was pissed because I tried to fight back and I couldn't." I was shaking my head now, wondering how scared Rey was at that time. "I know I caught a few of them with some punches, maybe I made them scared or something…I can't remember the rest, I blacked out and when I woke up I was in the hospital."

"Someone must have scared them away." Rachel said.

"Not just someone." I started. "Rey told me it was Chloe."

…

Rachel's POV

I just loved watching her play. Her fingers moved so swiftly and perfectly, I would kill to have her stay here forever and just play for me all night. Her technique was perfect, and I could tell that she wasn't even trying. "How do you do that?" I asked.

"Do what?" She replied looking up at me while continuing to strum quickly. "Oh…I dunno. Passion leads to perfection I guess." She said with a small smile. "I like playing the drums the most; I can drown out everything and just focus on the beat."

"Have you ever tried singing?" I asked her.

"In the shower maybe." I said with a shrug as I put the guitar back on the stand. "Will you sing me something?" She asked leaning back in the chair she was sitting in.

"Of course." I never backed down from a chance to perform. I stood up straight and cleared my throat. "This is called _Don't Rain on my Parade _by Barbra Streisand."

_Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter_

_Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter-._

"Wait what are you doing?" Santana asked standing up and walking over towards me. "You sounded different when you sang before."

"That's because you were groping me before." I told her putting my hands on my hips and wishing she would just shut up so I could sing.

"Well maybe I should grope you now then, because you aren't putting any soul into it." She said. "You're too stiff when you sing. It comes from your heart not your throat." I almost didn't know what to say. Almost.

"I thought you weren't a singer." I told her. She didn't answer, instead she pushed her hand under my shirt causing me to lock eyes with her. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Sing." She commanded.

"But what-."

"Sing." She repeated.

_Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter_

_Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter._

"Hm." She said pulling her hand back. "Are you not into it?"

"Of course I am! This is Barbra Streisand we're talking about!" I shouted.

"Hey, calm down okay." She said with a grin. "I just think that you try and make your singing too mechanical and you shouldn't have to do that. It needs to come from your heart." I didn't know if I should be annoyed or impressed right now. Why did she have to be so good at everything?

She walked over and sat down on the stool in behind the drum set. The rhythm she played was gentle, like one you hear during a church service or something but I liked it, and I envied her even more. "So, if your dads come home, am I going to meet them?" Santana said slowing her pace even more on the drums.

"They'll be home in a few minutes, are you up for it?" I asked.

"Am I up for it?" Santana said with a cocky grin. "Psh I was born ready baby." I laughed and she put away the drumsticks, right back to where she got them. I told her to follow me downstairs, which she did gladly, and we went into the kitchen.

"Want some coffee?" I offered as I was already making some for myself, Santana nodded and sat down at the table. "You see sort of quiet today, is everything alright?" I asked her.

"I was just thinking about you." I tried not to blush but it was no use.

"Me? What about?"

"Just about how if I wasn't doing community service then I would've never met you. I'm kinda a lucky s.o.b. huh?" She said with a small smile forming on her face.

"Oh the luckiest." I replied walking over and sitting down on her lap. She wrapped her arms around me and placed a kiss on my shoulder. "Hands to yourself." I warned her before I stood up and straddled her hips.

"Hands to myself?" I nodded and Santana wrapped her arms behind her back and looked at me waiting for my next move. I held her face in my hands and leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips. She smiled into it, and I pulled back watching as her face fell all too quickly. "Hey, I kept my hands to myself." She protested. I kissed her again, this time tugging onto her shirt and feeling her abs tighten as she tried to deepen the kiss. I wouldn't let her, I enjoyed having this control over her.

"Shut up and I'll let you do whatever you want." I told her as I pushed my hand under her shirt and ran my tongue along her neck. I could feel her hips press upwards and I knew she was dying to touch me. "Are you gonna be able to control yourself?" I asked her nipping at her collarbone.

"No-." The side door open and I jumped off Santana as quickly as I could. Luckily it takes awhile for my fathers to take off their shoes and close the garage door otherwise Santana and I would've been caught.

I walked over to the counter and poured two cups of coffee just as my fathers entered the room. "Hi Rachel and-…oh…hi there." My dad walked over to Santana and held out his hand.

"Hi sir, my name is Santana." Quinn was right, Santana knew a thing or two about respect and it showed.

"My name is Hiram and this is my partner Leroy." Santana gladly shook my father's hand as well.

"Nice to meet you both." She said with a smile. "Rachel was just showing me the new guitar, it's awesome."

"Oh that's right, Rachel told me you played." My father said. "How long have you two been home _alone_?"

"Dad would you please-."

"It's just a question honey." My dad said before looking back to Santana.

"Just a few hours." Santana replied.

"See, that's all I wanted to know." I rolled my eyes and handed Santana a cup of coffee. I sat down next to her and my fathers took the seats across from us. "So Santana, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Yes sir I would like to." Santana said before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Let me ask you something, is the whole 'yes sir and 'no sir' thing an act just to impress us?" Santana looked down at her hands and I opened my mouth to answer for her. She rested her hand on my thigh to stop me before I could.

"No it's not an act. I just…my father is a marine, it sort of comes with the territory." Santana explained.

"Wow good catch Rachel." My dad muttered. I kicked him from under the table and Santana tried not to laugh.

"Just ignore him." I whispered to Santana. She was about to say something when her phone buzzed. Everyone looked at her but she didn't make a move to answer it. "Go ahead, it could be Rey." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, turning away from us to answer it.

"Hello…Selena? What's going on?" She turned and gave me a reassuring smile, but that was pointless, I could tell that her shoulders had tensed and that something was definitely wrong. "You mean Quinn? What about her? Is it…okay…the hospital? Jesus Christ…okay I'm on my way." Santana turned around and looked at me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her.

"No…I um…it's Quinn…could you take me to the hospital? Something happened to Quinn…no wait, I could call Puck or something-."

"No, no, let's go. Let's go now."

**I know this chapter was a little shorter than the other ones but I'm anticipating that next chapter will be very intense. You'll find out what happened to Quinn, Chloe might return, and Andres and Santana are going to try and do something very dangerous. **


	13. A Gun?

**This chapter is more of an in-between chapter so get ready for what's about to happen next. I just thought of something, and it may be good or bad, but I find that I right Santana's POV much more than Rachel's, and I'm sorry to the Rachel fans, but I find it easier to write that way. If it's a big deal to you then I'm sorry, if it's not then thank you for reading and enjoy. **

Rachel's POV

"Someone's gonna fucking die!" I wasn't used to seeing Puck like this. He was always smiling or making an inappropriate joke, but I'd never seen him look this angry. I sort of wanted to hug him, but I could see from the looks of the people around us, that everyone was angry, and that included Santana.

"Shut up." Santana snapped at Puck. I could tell she was thinking, deeply at that. When we got here, she was pacing and right now, fifteen minutes later, she was pacing. I saw Selena, Santana's cousin, and Andres, Rey, and Lela all sitting down. Lela came over and sat down in the chair next to me, but Rey stayed by Andres. "We still don't know who did this." Santana said. Puck took a deep breath, like he was trying to stop himself from exploding, like he was a time bomb just wanting for someone to push his button.

"Bullshit, Tana, _todo el mundo sabe_." Selena said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Where was she when this happened?"

"The corner store, or on her way at least." Puck explained. I felt awful for Quinn. Santana seemed to think that she got jumped, she explained that it was probably a group of people who attacked her, without warning or anything. "I thought you said they were gonna lay off."

"That's what I thought, how was I supposed to know they were going to hurt her?" Santana yelled.

"Alright, hold on, take Lela and Rey home will you Selena?" I could see the woman sigh in relief as she grabbed both the kid's hands and left without another word. I could tell that the tension in the room only multiplied once she'd exited. "Where's Quinn's mom?" Andres asked, Puck shrugged and then so did Santana.

"Why are we standing here?!" Puck was yelling, and I saw him step towards the door like he was going to leave, but Santana grabbed his shirt and held him in place.

"Puck, wait…okay, let's just wait for Quinn's mom to get here." Santana said grabbing his shirt tighter. "Where'd you put it?" I exchanged looks with Andres for a moment before Andres stepped in between them.

"Where'd you put what?" Andres asked. I knew he had a stake in this, more than I did, but I wanted to know as well. "Santana I swear to God-."

"It's nothing." Andres wasn't happy, but he wasn't trying to push things with Santana. I still wanted to know what Puck and Santana were being so secretive about. Santana walked over and sat down next to me, clasping my hand in hers. "I'm sorry about this."

"Don't apologize; I just hope that Quinn is okay. They said she needed some stitches, right?" I asked.

"Yea 37 stitches." Santana said shaking her head. "I thought it was done, there wasn't even a warning. They're asking for a goddamn war." I was afraid for Santana. If they hurt Quinn that badly, then what would they do to her? They were really out to get Santana and I don't think anything would stop them.

"Should you call your parents?" I asked trying to think through this rationally. Puck was still fuming and Andres was on the other side of the room sitting in a chair and thinking.

"No, they'll find out about this from Lela and Rey and probably come down here soon." She said looking down at her feet. "Quinn will probably want to stay over at my house tomorrow, you can stay over too if you-." She stopped midsentence and looked up as eight guys entered the room.

Santana was already standing up before I could stop her, but no one ran or moved quickly at all. I could tell who they were just from all the red they were wearing and I could tell that they were serious.

I didn't know what was about to happen, but it wasn't going to be good.

…

Santana's POV

The room was silent. It's not like we ever needed to say a thing when we came face to face with these guys. We hated each other and there was nothing that would ever change that. Right now was different though. Right now we were in a hospital and this wasn't the streets. I wanted to kill them, but I couldn't and they knew that.

All eight of them took seats across from Rachel and I, Puck was still standing a few feet away and Andres was all the way on the other side of the room. I recognized the leader from the party, and according to Andres, his name was Ronny Jr., but people just called him J.R. What I really wanted to do was punch the fuck out of him for the way he was looking at Rachel. "Hey, what's her name?" I squeezed Rachel's hand tighter, I was literally holding on for dear life. If I let go I was going to bust someone's face in and I knew that wasn't the smart thing to do.

J.R. stood up and walked over until he was close enough to Rachel to touch her, and when he reached out his hand to brush her hair back, I fucking lost it.

I could hear his finger snap under the pressure, and I knew it was broken before I shoved him to the ground. I don't know how Andres jumped in between us, and I don't know how the hell Puck managed to make sure none of J.R's guys retaliated, but I was thankful that I was still standing and still breathing.

"Don't you dare fucking touch her again you fucking prick!" I wanted to fight, just for once, I knew I wouldn't make it past three punches, but sometimes I had bursts of strength sometimes, I could find the energy to do something and not pass out.

"That's your second strike." J.R. said. He wasn't even cradling his hand, he was just staring right at me. His eyes looked like they were blood red, or maybe it was because he was seeing red. "Third one and you're dead!" He shouted as he held up his right hand, with his broken finger pointed straight at me. "_Bang! Bang! Bang!" _He shouted before spitting on the ground in front of me. "Let's go." I wanted to head after them, but Andres was holding one of my arms as the group of 8 left.

"That was stupid." Andres said.

"I don't care." I said truthfully.

"I know." Andres said wrapping his arm protectively around my shoulders. "And I'm so goddamn proud of you right now, I think I might cry."

…

"Were you scared?" I asked Rachel as we laid down side by side on my bed. Rachel rolled over and rested her head on her hands, watching me as I stared up at the ceiling.

"No." She said.

"I was expecting you to jump in at some point, scratch a few eyes out, kick below the belt." Rachel cracked a smile and leaned her body over mine, like she wanted to watch me closely. "I don't know if you know this, but I broke a guy's finger for you…sorta a big deal." Rachel pressed her lips against mine, her lips tasted sweet, but I didn't get a chance to savor it before she was laying on top of me and gaining access to my mouth.

"I wanna thank you for standing up for me." Rachel said as she sat up and pulled her shirt over her head. I tried to tell her that she was beautiful, that her body was perfect, that her breasts were amazing, but I couldn't even speak. "It's okay; I already know what you want." I wish she knew how much I loved when she took control. I loved how she didn't wait for my permission ever, how she held my wrists in place and only let me touch her if I was patient.

Her favorite part on my body was my hips, I knew because every time we touched, she just couldn't wait to straddle me, and she couldn't go two minutes without gridding down against me. It was her addiction, her biggest weakness.

I flipped her over; I couldn't stand not being able to touch her for that long. Our lips met again, our hips moved again, and the only thing I wanted to do was take off every piece of clothing that was between us, and throw it on the ground, so I could touch, taste, learn every inch of her body.

She let me do this to her, she liked it from the way she kept arching her back every time I pressed my knee against her center. She whispered my name through a breathy moan and I couldn't handle it anymore-.

The knock on the door felt like the end of the world. Just when we were getting somewhere, of course someone had to interrupt us. "What?!" I yelled, hoping it was just Lela coming over to say something about giraffes, her new obsession, and I could just tell her to go away.

"Hey, come on, let's go." It wasn't Lela it was Andres, and I needed to know what the hell he was talking about. I didn't both fixing my hair or anything, I just got up, and walked over, cracking the door open enough so that I could at least talk to him. "What are you doing? Puck said that he already talked to you about heading out now." I looked at him like he'd grown two heads.

"What the hell? You can't go you dipshit, you're a cop, dad would lose his shit." Andres looked around the hallway, like he was afraid that mom or dad would hear us. "And it's not just Puck, a few other guys are going."

"Are they packin?" Andres asked. I looked over my shoulder at Rachel who was currently biting her thumb and giving me a perfect few of her body from where I was standing. I turned back to Andres.

"Look I don't know, so fucking what if they are-."

"Shut up and take this." Andres said handing over his gun to me. I hastily put it in my hoodie, hoping I could conceal it for at least a second. "And don't fucking use it unless you have to, okay?"

"Yea okay." Andres was never like this. He was never reckless. "Wait…I don't know if I should take it-."

"Listen to me; I'm not letting you go unless you have it, okay?" Andres said before taking a step back. "I'll keep dad occupied…just, think about Rey before you do anything, he'll lose his mind if anything happens to you." I nodded my eyes in understanding even though I knew I wasn't in the best mindset right now.

"Take care of Rachel too will ya?" He assured me that Rachel would be in good hands. "Hey Rachel, I've got to go take care of something, Andres will take care of you, and Quinn's always quite the entertainer…" Rachel looked at me curiously but nodded anyway, like she wasn't going to ask any questions about it. "…um…you should probably put on some clothes too." She was already pulling on her shirt when I waved goodbye to her and patted Andres on the shoulder.

I ran around the corner in the hallway and went into the guest room, where Quinn was currently lying down. "Wow." I said when she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"Wow what?" She asked.

"You look like shit." I told her truthfully.

"Gee thanks." Quinn said grimacing as she tried not to laugh. The stitches in her head made her look kinda tough, and at least her black eye didn't look awful, and at least she could open her eyes. "What are you doing? I thought you were gonna hook up with Rachel or something." I blushed at the thought, even going as far as to wonder if Quinn could hear us in this room.

"Um…Puck and I are…going out for a sec." Quinn caught my lie as soon as I even thought to make up so b.s. excuse.

"You're going after those guys right?" Quinn asked. I didn't have to answer because she knew. "Don't go San…fucking let Puck deal with it or something, but I have a bad feeling okay-."

"Don't try and guilt trip me on this, and don't talk about my condition." I warned her. "You want us to let them get away with this, no…fuck that."

"Why do you have to be so goddamn stupid?!" Quinn snapped. She doesn't usually get this upset about anything, not when she's sober at least. "What's that?" I followed her line of sight down to the bulge in the pocket of my hoodie.

"Nothing-."

"A gun? A fucking gun? Who gave you that?" I opened my mouth to answer but she held up her hands instead. "Andres." She replied for me.

"I'm not gonna fire it." I assured her.

"Just be careful…please." I nodded, of course I would be careful, I just didn't know if being careful would be enough.

**Review Review Review **


	14. Four Dead

**I hope you guys will notice that this chapter is written differently than the others. My reasoning is because I want it to seem fast paced and like information is getting thrown at you, but that's the flow that I was looking for as a wrote it. As always thank you for reading, and enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"You're worried." Puck said as Nacho drove the car down the street with Mani in the front, and Puck and I crammed in the back. I ran my finger along the barrel of the gun that was currently concealed in my pocket, maybe I wouldn't even have to use it.

Maybe I would.

"Just about Quinn, aren't you?" I asked him trying to cover up the fact that Quinn had me spooked. Did really think we were gonna let these guys walk all over us? She knew us better than that I hoped. "Where are we going anyway?" I asked Nacho who'd been silent since he picked us up a few minutes ago.

"Pico's bar. That's where those guys hang; everyone knows they're sellin out of that place too." Nacho explained. I rolled down my window and watched as we drove by. "They're not gonna back down, you know." Nacho said with a frown.

"Yea." I started. "I know."

…

Rachel's POV

"Where's Tana?" Rey asked me as Andres was holding his hands up for Lela to punch. She wore bright pink boxing gloves and she moved around the corner of the kitchen like a pro. Andres showed me the gloves before Lela put them on, and I could faintly make out the initials on the inside of the gloves. S.L.

An adorable picture of a seven year old Santana came into my mind and I nearly burst at my seams. "Um…that's a really good question." I said looking towards Andres who didn't seem to be paying me much attention right now. I wondered when Mr. and Mrs. Lopez would return, they'd managed to take Quinn's mother to the police station in order to help file charges.

Andres complained for a whole ten minutes about how he wished he could take the case and bring those bastards down, but he had a personal stake in the matter so it wouldn't be fair. "Do you think Quinn can come downstairs?" I asked Andres.

"Oh shi-…itake mushrooms." Andres said before looking over his shoulder at me. "Would you mind going up and seeing if Quinn wants something to eat. And remind her that I can only make tacos." He said with a small shrug.

"Let's go check on Quinn." I told Rey. He grabbed my hand and we slowly walked upstairs. I wanted to take my time. Rey was a fragile boy and normally he was really shy, but maybe he just needed someone to cling to, and I happened to be here. That was perfectly okay with me.

"Rachel, why was Tana's door closed earlier?" I blushed, like a three year old child, and tried not to die of embarrassment. I was lucky that Rey was too busy focusing on walking up the steps to realize that he'd made me a flustered mess.

"Um…Santana and I were…um…reading." I said.

"Reading what?" Rey asked.

"_50 Shades of Grey_." I muttered jokingly.

"What's that?" Shit! I didn't think he'd actually hear me.

"Oh nothing."

…

Santana's POV

"Are we getting out here?" I asked as Nacho parked the car in front of a house about two blocks from Pico's. It seemed a little far away, but I wasn't going to complain about it. Puck and I got out of the car first and I decided it would be better if I put the gun in the back of my pants; Puck watched and nodded his head a little bit. "What?" I asked him.

"Why did Andres give you that?" Puck asked. I didn't want to talk about this because I knew what he was going to say. "We're gonna walk over to the bar, you pull driver. Wait five minutes in the car and then drive over to park. You got me?" It wasn't like Puck to be so damn bossy.

I wasn't like me to listen and not object. I took the keys from Nacho and set a timer on my clock and leaned against the hood the car. I watched them until they were out of sight and then I began kicking pebbles like it was my job.

This side of Lima Heights was different. It was still the same place, but the people here were different. They stayed inside, they dropped out of school after 7th grade, and if they were duffle boys they were stealing from people's garages.

So I guess Rachel never had to deal with this, not where she came from, but that didn't mean she wasn't tough. She had a story, I know she did. Maybe it was drugs, I mean she was sort of bohemian, maybe she smoked pot and that's why she was so chill. One thought always came back to my mind.

Was she hanging out with me just to stick it to her parents?

No, Rachel wasn't like that, she was really nice to me, and she was putting up with all of my emotional shit without running away. I really should start counting my blessings while I still could.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the alarm on my phone went off. I slid into the driver's side seat and took a deep breath. I wondered what I'd see when I got there.

…

Rachel's POV

"Do you know where Santana went?" I asked Quinn as Rey and I entered the guest bedroom. Quinn was sitting up and reading a boring magazine.

"From the sounds I heard earlier I assumed you two were-." I covered Rey's ears and glared at Quinn. "What? I was going to say talking." Quinn said with a grin which immediately turned into a wince of pain.

"They were reading." Rey exclaimed as he jumped on the bed and laid down next to Quinn. "Quinnie, does it hurt?" Rey asked looking up at her battered face. Rey pressed his pointer finger against one of Quinn's cuts and she winced in pain.

"If you keep doing that then I'll show you what real pain is." Quinn mumbled as she closed her eyes and relaxed.

"Be nice." I warned her and Rey looked over at me nodding like he totally agreed. I could see that Quinn was rolling her eyes even if her eyes were closed. I looked around for a chair finding one in the corner. I picked it up and moved it so that I could sit next to Quinn's bed. "So Mr. and Mrs. Lopez are out at the police station." I said.

"Are you propositioning me for sex?" Quinn asked with a smirk playing on her face. Rey looked between us but didn't say a word.

"No you idiot! I was just wondering how you felt about getting the police involved." I said in a matter of fact tone. "I mean your mom's boyfriend seemed pretty animated about the whole thing." Quinn opened her eyes and sighed.

"Derrick can burn in _el infierno_." Quinn said with a scowl.

"Why don't you like him?" I asked Quinn.

"Because." There was more and I felt like it had to do with Quinn's past. Quinn could be moody and she drank more than she needed to, so what was with that? "You're kinda nosy."

"So ask something about me then." I urged her.

"Fine, what are you hiding from Santana?" I was slightly taken aback, mostly because no one's ever flat out asked me something like that. Rey sat up on the bed and jumped down to his feet.

"I'm gonna get my medicine." Smartest kid on the planet, I thought to myself. Rey left the room and Quinn stared at me waiting for an answer.

"I'm not hiding anything." At least not anything that I was aware that I was hiding. "You've been watching too much _Lie to Me_."

…

Santana's POV

I parked outside of Pico's and examined the front of the bar for myself. There were about five guys standing out front. They were smoking and they looked harmless so I decided now was as good a time as any to go inside.

I got out of the car and walked over to the door, opening it slowly. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't hear shouting or gunfire so that must have been a good sign. I walked inside and no one paid me much mind, that was until I started heading towards the back room. "Hey sweetheart, you got business back there?" I understood what the man meant. This must be the place where Peligro Rojo sells their dope.

"I've got friends back there." I didn't want to say too much. It wasn't like I looked like I didn't belong, quite the opposite, but I didn't want to give away the fact that I was considered an enemy. "You got a problem?" I asked him.

"No but I do." I turned around and there was Chloe, I didn't have time to look shocked or get the hell out of there before Chloe was wrapping her arms around me into a hug. "San, what are you doing here? It's dangerous." She whispered in my ear. Of course it was dangerous, Chloe's middle name was danger, so why did she suddenly care so much about it?

"I know, Puck's back there." I told her attempting to brush her off before she could stop me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to a stool with no one around it. She looked at me and frowned.

"Get Puck and go." I didn't want to have this conversation but something about Chloe's eyes that let me know that she was serious. "Look at me." I did. "Please don't make this difficult, I'm protecting you."

Just like she'd protected my heart? I don't think so.

I heard the sound of loud voices coming from the back room. I turned and noticed that Puck and Nacho were yelling at some guy, but I couldn't see Mani. I couldn't hear what they were saying, and I got shoved out of the way by an older guy when I tried to see what was going on. They were getting a crowd and I was a part of that crowd. Even if it was the last thing I wanted, Chloe was right beside me, holding onto my hand.

…

Rachel's POV

"So can you text Santana?" I asked Quinn as Rey bounced up and down on my lap and Quinn pulled on a sweatshirt. "I would do it, but I can sense that something…" I looked down at Rey who wasn't even looking at me, so I just mouthed _is wrong_. Quinn nodded and grabbed her phone.

"Santana usually does her own thing, I'm surprised you were able to hold her down for this long." Quinn said typing out the text message. "So did you get the d.l. about what time my mom is gonna come back?" Quinn asked.

"Like 10 minutes tops." I told her.

"Let me ask you something." Quinn had already asked me a very interesting question, so I had no idea what to expect. Quinn always seemed very nonchalant about most things so I could never prepare myself for what she'd say. "How do your parents feel about adoption?"

"What?" I asked.

"I mean how would your parents feel about adopting me. In all seriousness, you think I like being called Trailer Trash?" Quinn said picking up a water bottle and drinking half of it. "Come on hook me up rich girl."

"I'm not rich and I don't know if my fathers want another child, I'm sort of a handful." I said with a smirk. I heard the door open downstairs and a slew of voices came rushing in. I looked over to Quinn who just shrugged and ushered us downstairs. I carried Rey who didn't look like he minded one bit.

When we reached the kitchen Mrs. Lopez gave me a warm smile, but I could still sense the tension in the room. Ms. Fabray was talking to Derek and Mr. Lopez was talking to Andres. Lela ran over and stood in front of me. "Are you sleeping over?" Lela asked.

"Um…well I'll have to wait for Santana to come home first."

"Wait, where is Santana?" Mr. Lopez asked me. The room fell silent and all eyes seemed to be on me. "Andres, where is your sister?" He seemed sterner now and I wondered if he was getting angry.

"Out." Andres said keeping his eyes down, it was only now that I suspected that something was up.

"Andres, I'll give you one more chance, where is Santana?"

…

Santana's POV

"You don't mess with kids from that side of the heights. You stay on your fucking turf and we'll stay on ours." It was Mani talking but I had to shove through a few people just to make it to Puck's side.

"Well then get off our tuff big shot." It was J.R. he was always in the middle of everything. I suspected that he was the one who beat me up a year and a half ago, but I didn't have proof.

"We're asking out of respect, okay? Back the hell off-."

"Why are you always in the goddamn middle of everything? You got an issue; you want us to settle this?" J.R. asked getting a few laughs from the crowd.

"Let's fucking settle it then." Puck said shoving J.R. back.

"Puck stop!" I told him, but it was no use, he'd already swung and connected with J.R. face. We were outnumbered there was no way that we could win this. I felt like I was watching everything unfold from a distance. The crowd was moving, I was moving, and I couldn't stop myself.

I'd already hit someone, but I felt like I was getting choked to death but I couldn't see who was hurting me.

The gun. I grabbed it but I didn't know what to do with it. I could barely see anything anymore. I heard a scream, it sounded like me but it wasn't me. Chloe was holding onto me and yelling something, but I couldn't hear her.

It wasn't until I heard the gun go off that I realized that I was on the ground. It wasn't my gun, it was someone from Peligro Rojo, I knew it from the moment I heard the gunfire. I looked down and saw the blood on my shirt. I covered Chloe with my body. I had to protect her.

…

Rachel's POV

"Dad-." Andres started but Mr. Lopez was already taking the car keys out of his wife's hands.

"What's going on, _esposo_?" Mrs. Lopez questioned with a confused look on her face.

"_Lo sabia_. I knew it; I knew there was something going on. Santana never lets anything go." I didn't understand, but everyone else seemed to. "Where's your gun Andres?" Mr. Lopez asked glaring at his eldest son. Andres didn't say anything and the pieces started to fall together.

Santana was out there with Puck. And she had a gun. Andres's phone went off and he answered quickly. "What do you mean? At Pico's? Okay…I'll be there…no, just…is she okay?"

"Did something happen to Santana?" Mrs. Lopez asked.

"I um-." Andres started but Mr. Lopez grabbed his son by his shirt collar. "There was a shooting. Down at Pico's…they said that four people were dead, but they haven't identified the bodies yet."

**Kinda a harsh cliffhanger, huh?**


	15. Undercover

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever, but let's hope this will make up for it.**

Rachel's POV

"Would you hurry up?" Quinn yelled at me as we ran out to my car. I could see that Mr. and Mrs. Lopez were already gone, and Andres yelled something about how he needed to get to the scene as soon as possible. Quinn's mom and Derek were going to stay home with Lela and Rey, they'd already been through enough to last them a lifetime, and it was past 1 in the morning.

I got into my car and Quinn turned the car on for me from where she was seated in the passenger's seat. I didn't protest, I just drove as fast as I could to the hospital. I parked crooked, and I nearly knocked over a child as I ran to the ICU.

Puck was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and an empty look in his eyes. He had a black eye, and his arm was in a sling. "What happened?" Quinn asked him. He shook his head and covered his eyes with his hand. "Puck?"

"Mani's hurt…he's in surgery now. It was just a fight, we were gonna kick ass and then leave, you know? Get the last word in." He looked at me. "Someone pulled a piece, started shooting up the damn place. Some guy fell on me and broke my arm." Puck explained.

"They said that four people were killed." Puck looked down at the ground and frowned.

"Four?" Quinn and I nodded. "I didn't know that, I just thought…people just got hurt." Mr. Lopez walked over and grabbed Puck's good arm.

"Where's my daughter?" He questioned.

"I don't…she had blood all over her but it wasn't-." The door to the waiting room opened and Santana walked it. There was blood all over her shirt, but it didn't look like she was injured. Her parents grabbed her not even a second later, wrapping her into the warmest and most heartbreaking hug I've ever seen.

I know I wished my arms were around her but I didn't mind standing back. Mrs. Lopez looked like she was going to have a heart attack, but eventually Santana had to let go, because Quinn was waiting to hold her.

Their hug was different, it was tender and sweet and for the first time I saw Quinn cry. Santana held onto Quinn like her life depended on it, she held on like maybe just maybe, if she shut her eyes for long enough then she might not have to face the truth. Four people had died tonight, but we still have no idea who those bodies were.

"Rachel?" Santana said walking over to me and pressing our foreheads together. "Listen to me, things are gonna get bad out here, I mean…" She turned around for a moment as if she heard a startling noise, but then looked back at me. "Things are already bad. Your parents should pick you up, today has been…too much and I-." She was fumbling, she was a wreak, but who wouldn't be?

"I'm not leaving." I told her.

"-just don't know how to…what?" She cocked her head to the side and stared at me.

"I said I wasn't leaving." I repeated louder to just to make sure she heard me this time. "Santana breathe." I pleaded with her. She looked terribly worried and I wish I knew how to calm her down.

"This isn't right." She muttered.

"What San?" Quinn asked. I grabbed onto Santana's hands to prevent her from making sudden movements.

"I said this isn't right!" Santana snapped. "We were gonna go in there and scare them, we were going to-."

"Shut the hell up!" Puck said taking a step towards Santana.

"Hey!" I said stepping between them. "That's enough for today."

"Kids, we have things to take care of here. Stay in this room, don't move, and wait for Andres. Do you understand?" Santana and Quinn nodded but Puck crossed his arms over his chest and sunk down into a seat.

"Yes sir." Santana said watching as her parents left the room and went in search of some doctors.

"Mani?" Santana asked, Puck shrugged and kept his gaze low. "Chloe got hit too; the bullet was an inch away from her heart, through and through." Santana took a deep breath and wrapped her arm around my waist. She kissed me on the forehead and then gently on the lips. "Nacho?" Santana asked almost like it was an afterthought, something that only just now hit her and stung her to the bone. Puck keep his gaze on the empty chair in front of him, immobile and lifeless.

"Where's Andres?" Quinn asked.

"He hasn't texted me back. I assume he's still at the scene." I told Quinn.

"Where's Chloe?" We all turned to see a frantic looking Andres, with his undershirt showing and his hair a mess. He looked like he'd been through hell and back. "Where is she?!" He snapped. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, but Santana took a few tentative steps toward him.

"In a hospital room, 319, why?" She asked him, but he was already sprinting off down the hallway. Santana grabbed my hand and we followed.

It didn't understand Andres's frantic nature right now. He didn't seem to like Chloe very much, no one did, so why was he acting like he needed to see her? Santana stopped Andres before he could open up the hospital door. "Stop, explain this. _No entiendo_. Why do you need to see Chloe so badly?"

"It's a long and complicated story." Andres said resting his forehead against the wall. "And I think you're about to find out."

…

Santana's POV

Rachel was back in the waiting room, I told her to leave Andres and I alone. There was something wrong here, but I still didn't know what and it didn't look like Andres wanted to say it. "Find what out? Tell me."

"I want you to go in there and ask Chloe yourself." Andres said with a sigh. "It'll be easier to understand that way." I looked at the door and took a deep breath. Andres allowed me to enter the room without another word. Chloe looked up at me as soon as I entered the room. She was wearing the typical hospital gear, and she had more tubes and oxygen going in and out of her body than I've ever seen.

"I guess I got lucky." Chloe said with a forced and painful smile. I went over and grabbed onto her hand and smiled back because I had no idea what to feel.

"You're insane." I told her after a long silence. "You took a bullet for me."

"I had to." She said wrapping her arms around me and pulling me towards her. I didn't mind, this was more comforting than anything had been tonight. I got on the bed and wrapped my arms around her, holding her like I used to. "I was so scared, I thought…I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"But you got hurt. You shouldn't have been there-."

"You shouldn't have either." She replied cutting me off.

"No I meant, it was my fault for shutting you out so quickly, even when I could see that you were trying." I explained. I didn't know what else to say, did she understand what I was saying? Did she sense the forgiveness in my voice? "How's your heart?" I asked resting my hand against her chest.

"Fine, how's yours?" She asked doing the same.

"This time it wasn't so bad." I told her. She didn't look convinced in the slightest.

"Does your girl know about it? I mean if you're getting closer to her, she should know." Chloe told me. Leave it to her to be giving me relationship advice from her hospital bed. "Not that I'm trying to tell you how to live your life."

"That's a first." The smack I received made me smile more than I should have.

"Where's Andres?" Chloe asked.

"I don't get it. He started rambling about how I was going to find something out. Something from you." I started. "So I think that maybe you should just tell me." The door creaked open and Andres walked in. It felt like old times, Chloe and I holding one another and me jumping up because I was afraid of anyone seeing us. I stood beside the bed and watched as Andres walked over and sighed deeply.

"If I had know that things were going to go down like this then I wouldn't have-."

"It's fine." Chloe said.

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on?" I asked looking between the two of them.

"It's a long story-." Andres started.

"It's not that long." Chloe said. "Look I'll make it easy, last year Andres found me, high off my ass in some dump. I was homeless and reckless. I was in deep with _Peligro Rojo_. So they set me up undercover, they were working on a big sting, and they needed someone on the inside." Chloe took a deep breath. "It wasn't supposed to take long, but…"

"Things were getting out of hand. We couldn't call or anything like that, so when she came over to our house I knew something was up. That was my cue to get her out of there." Andres said.

"And then Quinn got jumped." Chloe said. "And I knew something bad was going to happen, I didn't know what was going on. I was losing my grip on those guys." Chloe explained.

"You're kidding right? This is a joke?" I asked.

"Oh I wish." Chloe said.

"So you're undercover?" I asked Chloe.

"She was, right now I'm thinking we have to pull her out." Andres said.

"I wish that I could have maybe told you sooner, I wish you could have seen me get clean, and change. I guess I was off by a few months, huh?" Chloe said as she held onto my hand.

"Yea." I whispered. "A part of me wishes I'd known sooner."

…

Rachel's POV

The news came suddenly. Santana held me in her arms and cried. I never thought I'd ever see her cry. She told me she wanted the lights off, her parents were still downstairs talking with Andres, Quinn's mom, and Derek. Quinn was asleep, Lela and Rey were sleeping in the same bed as her, and Rey held on to Quinn for dear life.

Nacho was dead. J.R. and two other guys from _Peligro Rojo_ had died too. But the loss of Nacho hit Santana terribly hard. "He was just a kid." Santana said wiping her eyes. "None of this was worth it."

I decided we had to change the subject. Thinking about Nacho was not going to help her relax. "Is Chloe alright?" I asked.

"I have to tell you something." Santana said out of the blue. She stood up and began pacing right in front of me. Something had been weighing on her that was clear. "It's about my condition."

"Is it getting worse? Is everything okay?" I asked her.

"It's fine…I mean it's not…" Santana ran her fingers through her hair. "It's called _long QT syndrome_." She started. "It's a heart condition, whenever I get angry, or emotional, or exercise too much then my heart beat gets erratic and…I just pass out."

"That's why you were in the hospital. Is that what happened tonight?" I asked her.

"It was the noise, the gunshots. I got started and then dizzy and-…" I held onto her hand and pulled her back on the bed. "This is the most episodes I've had in a long time. Part of it's my fault, but part of me thinks…" She looked down at her feet.

"Part of you thinks what?"

"Long QT can be fatal, I mean those episodes are bad, but if I don't make it to the hospital quick enough…who knows." She said. "That's why I was in the hospital a lot as a kid. I wanted to play with everyone else, I wanted to ride my bike around the street, but my mom wanted to protect me." Everything was starting to fall into place. Santana's father wasn't really there for her much as a kid, and her mom had to take care of her, which must have been a huge struggle.

"What do I do to help protect you? How do I-."

"Nothing." Santana said. "No, I didn't tell you to make you feel burdened or to pity me." She explained. "I told you because I want you to know that I'm serious about this, about _us_."

"No more lies?" I asked. "Or secrets?"

"None." She said before kissing me sweetly on the lips. "Today has been the longest and hardest day in history."

"We need rest." I added.

"Tomorrow's the day that everything's gonna change around here." Santana assured me. "Four people are dead, and I think a turf war has officially begun. I still want to know who the shooter was."

"All questions for another day." I said pulling the cover over both our bodies. "But right now, I want you to let me hold you. Even if I can't protect you…let's just pretend like tonight I can."

**I think the tension can only grow from here, Santana and Rachel's relationship may be the only safe one left after these next few chapters. Review and tell me what you guys think. **


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